October 9, 2010
The Eagle Has Landed!
Article courtesy of wildtreads.com

It took 107 days, and this final week was packed full of logistical nightmares. Mechanical failure in the plane bringing Eagle Mitch to the US from Afghanistan delayed that repeatedly, while we kept trying to arrange transport from Virginia, to Newburgh, NY, where he'll stay with USDA for a 30 day quarantine period. But we did it, and now I can actually use the phrase, 'the eagle has landed,' and mean it. Of course, there's one more leg to the journey because after his quarantine he'll go to his home at Berkshire Bird Paradise
He'll arrive there just about in time for Veteran's day, appropriately enough, and if you visit their website, your donation can help keep Mitch in 'ratsicles.'
To get Mitch into his new digs, I had the help of the amazing Pilots N Paws where regular men and women volunteer to be heroes for animals that need

read more on Mitch the eagle>>

Barbara with Mitch the Eagle

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September 23, 2010

Big Thanks to Senator Schumer and Constituent Liaison Caroline Wekselbaum!

MITCH THE EAGLE COMING TO NEW YORK AFTER BEING RESCUED BY NAVY SEALS IN AFGHANISTAN – SCHUMER CUT THROUGH RED TAPE TO ENSURE EAGLES PASSAGE BACK TO US

Navy Seals, Stationed in Afghanistan, Rescued And Cared for Mitch the Eagle after He was Harmed


Barbara Chepaitis, Author and Advocate, and Schumer Cut Through Red Tape to Secure Safe Passage to America for Mitch

Schumer Weighed in With Personal Letter and Helped Secure Exemption to Blanket Ban on Imported Birds

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that Mitch, an eagle rescued and cared for by Navy Seals in Afghanistan, is on his way to a bird sanctuary in the Capital Region. After rescuing Mitch, a Steppe Eagle, the Navy Seals contacted Pete Dubacher, owner of Berkshire Bird Paradise in Petersburg NY, seeking his help. Barbara Chepaitis, author of Feathers of Hope, a book about the bird sanctuary, immediately went to Senator Schumer’s office in an effort to secure Mitch’s passage to the United States.
"We hit some serious obstacles while trying to help these young men rescue their eagle, but I knew Senator Schumer would support their efforts," Ms. Chepaitis said. "We absolutely could not have done this without him."
Schumer was able to cut through the red tape and expedite Fish and Wildlife paperwork along with the necessary health testing for Mitch with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), so the eagle can transition to a permanent home at Berkshire Bird Paradise. He will arrive in the United States the first week in October.

“This is a great story about our caring soldiers and generous New Yorkers, I was happy to help give this effort a last boost and get Mitch here,.” Schumer said. “Some regulations at the USDA almost held this up but at the end of the day we were able to cut through the red tape and give Mitch a home right here in our backyard.”

During a routine patrol, the Navy Seals saw Mitch being shot on a rifle range. The Seals were able to rescue the eagle and tend its wounds, ensuring its survival. The service members cared for this

  Read the rest of the story>>

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September 19, 2010

Update on the Wounded Afghan Eagle Coming to Our Sanctuary.

A Special Thank You
This goes out to Dr. Eileen Jenkins, an army veterinarian stationed in Afghanistan, who is caring for Mitch while he's in quarantine there. She emailed me recently to say that they "completed construction of a quarantine facility, and some perches for enrichment. I have procured a supply of rodents to sustain him through quarantine (we conducted live trapping, veterinary quarantine of the rodents, humanely euthanized the healthy ones (no drug residues), and then froze them). So far, all is going well!"
When Mitch arrived and was established in his new digs, she reported that he looked great, his bumblefoot healing, and he was eating voraciously. He loves them ratsicles! She also says she's getting very attached to him, and who can blame her? Such a handsome fellow.
Carrying out this kind of work, and coordinating all that needed to be coordinated for transport in a war zone took enormous effort on everyone's part.Dr. Jenkins and our other US troops involved deserve a big HURRAH!
Here's to staying human in difficult times.

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Deputy Majority Leader Senator Jeff Klein
Representing Bronx and Westchester Counties

KLEIN SECURES NEW HOME FOR ROOSTER RESCUED FROM COCKFIGHT

Bird to be Delivered to Recovery Sanctuary

BRONX, NY – State Senator and Deputy Majority Leader Jeff Klein (D-Bronx/Westchester) announced on Friday that he has secured a safe, long term home for an abused rooster recently rescued from a South Bronx cockfight. The owner of the Hollywood Haircuts barber shop on City Island has ... more>> fighting cock rescued>>

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Albany Times Union – 7-29-2010
Red Tape snarls Eagle’s rebound Troop unit keeps trying to get bird from Afghanistan to Grafton anctuary.
Grafton – An eagle shot by an Afghan soldier that is being nursed back to health by elite U.S. fighters has hit new bureaucratic snags as the soldiers labor to get the bird sent to a Rensselaer County bird sanctuary for ong-term rehabilitation.
..   more on Afghan Eagle>>

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WINGS OF AN ANGEL
Berkshires sanctuary gives birds new life.
Saturday July 17, 2010
NY Daily News

By Amy Sacks – Daily News Staff Worker
A tiny yellow ducking recently found wandering alone on the grounds of the New York Botanical Garden has since landed in paradise.
“I knew a fledgling would never survivor with all the predators in the Garden,” said the bird’s rescuer, a state licensed wildlife rehabber who asked not to be identified because  more>>

News update June 30, 2010
Afghan Eagle’s rehab grounded

Grafton – An eagle wounded in the wing by a bullet in Afghanistan is being nursed back to health by elite U.S fighters, despite limited supplies and the daily dangers they face in the war-torn country.

But because of an international treaty covering endangered species and U.S. wildlife regulations, their efforts to have the injured eagle sent to a bird sanctuary is Rensselaer County has hit a bureaucratic snag.
Continued >>

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News update! June 1, 2010

We now have three baby Bald Eagles, we just got another one from NY state that was blown out of it's nest in buffalo NY. We put it with our two Eaglets and it was adopted by the mother. The new eaglet is the same size as the other two, right now they are as big as a duck and growing rapidly.

We set up a camera and a TV so visitors can see them in the nest. I will be posting some photos soon.
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Flash! News update! May 20, 2010

We have 2 new baby Bald Eaglets
They hatched about a month ago and they are doing great.
The mother of the hatchlings name is Victoria, She is a survivor of the Exxon Valdez oil spill 20 years ago. The US postal service paid for her transportation to the Bird Paradise. The fathers name is Baldwin who was also injured and came to our sanctuary. I will be putting up some photos shortly. These Bald Eagles will be raised here and set free in the wilds of Upstate NY later this Summer.

The Bird Paradise will be open for the Memorial Day weekend.

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March 31, 2010: We have two Eagles sitting on eggs, we are hoping for the best.

and

A new book is being published by Suny Press this summer.

Feathers of Hope by Barbara Chepaitis

This book is now available for Pre order at SunyPress.org

Contact: SUNYPRESS.EDU, or chepaitis@aol.com

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Facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Berkshire-Bird-Paradise/111172292244592?ref=ts

link for the recent Channel 13 news story about Victoria and her baby eagles.

http://wnyt.com/article/stories/S1538691.shtml

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These are the last pair of American Bald Eagle that we released You can see the band on there legs to identify them.

 
These photos by Saul Aronson
Peter Nye, head of the Endangered Species Unit of the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, and Peter Dubacher just banded the new baby eagles and they were released August 10th 2007

Photo by:Saul Aronson

October 13, 2010

I second all the thank yous. Everyone who was on the phones on Thursday and Friday can attest to how well deserved they are. And particularly I want to thank Craig and Scott, for giving us an example of what it means to be a true human - taking care of those who need our help, even when that demands an effort beyond the call of duty, or the boundaries of normal rules. Everyone who heard this story was moved by it and, I think, taught by it as well.

When I saw Mitch on Friday he was lively, hopping about his kennel, peering at me as if demanding an explanation for all the ruckus. I'll be checking in on him throughout his quarantine period, and will transport him to Berkshire Bird Paradise on or around November more>>

October 12, 2010

We received a beautiful Bald Eagle from New York State. It has a fractured wing and can fly good but not good enough to survive in the wilds. We introduced the our new Eagle to a pair of older Bald Eagles and as soon as we put him in he got cozy with them. He strong and healthy. I will be putting up some photos shortly.

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October 12, 2010
A big thank You.