BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A young bald eagle is being cared for by the SPCA serving Erie County after it flew into a window in the City of Buffalo Monday.
Buffalo Police Detective Mark Costantino and Officer David O’Brien say they heard a loud crash outside their offices at Court and Franklin Streets. The went outside and found the eagle across the street, struggling on the sidewalk. It had flown into a window on the building across the street.
“He tried to raise himself four or five times, but he was struggling and we could see he couldn’t lift up,” Costantino said in a press release. He said even though the eagle didn't have a full white head yet because it was so young, he knew right away that it was a bald eagle because it was so large.
Officers with the SPCA came to get the bird and rush him to the Wildlife Department hospital.
“What we are hypothesizing with this bird, well they are all types of reason this could happen, is that the bird became disoriented with its reflection in the window," Gina Lattuca, SPCA Chief Communications Officer, said. "Contacts of ours over at the Department of Environmental Conservation even hypothesize that he may have gotten into a territorial fight with falcons that are known to be in the city."
The veterinarian said the eagle wasn't able to stand, had a beak injury, and blood in his mouth. After x-rays, it was determined the bird had a fractured femur.
The eagle is being cared for but is in critical condition. The bird arrived at Cornell on Wednesday afternoon for its surgery.
