A bald eagle brought to the South Plains Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in February was released back to the property it was found on in Hartley, TX. 

The bird was found by a farmer in Hartley (near Dalhart) in February. He had suffered head damage and was sent to the South Plains Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Lubbock for treatment.  The staff in Lubbock discovered that this eagle had also been impacted by lead poisoning. 

In Lubbock, the eagle improved dramatically, he began eating and eventually began to fly again on his own. Finally on March 11, the eagle was ready to return to the wild. 

The team from the South Plains Wildlife Center drove up to Hartley. When the eagle was given the chance, he took off into the West Texas wind. 

Back in February, Gail Barnes, the Executive Director of the South Plains Wildlife Rehabilitation Center said: 

“It’s a privilege to be able to treat a beautiful raptor like a bald eagle or a golden eagle  and we hope very much that we are able to release him back to his natural habitat because that’s one of our goals, that’s our mission.”