Fighting Cock Rescued

-----------------------------------------------------------

Albany Times Union – 7-29-2010
Red Tape snarls Eagle’s rebound Troop unit keeps trying to get bird from Afghanistan to Grafton sanctuary.
By Paul Grondahl
Staff writer

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 long-term rehabilitation.
Since the story of the eagle was published July 1 in the Times Union, it’s been one step forward and two steps backward as boosters on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as a U.S senator, try to negotiate a thicket of U.S regulations and multiple federal agencies.
“I applaud the effort of the soldiers and the compassion they’re showing for the eagle even they’re in harm’s way themselves,” said Peter Dubacher, who runs the Berkshire Bird Paradise in Grafton. He has agreed to take the eagle, who will likely never fly again after its wing was shattered by a bullet.
Dubacher, who has cared for more than 20 wounded eagles in the past 30 years, was moved by the plight of the eagle and the bird as a symbol of American freedom and can-do spirit.
“These guys are trying to do something positive in a dangerous war zone,” Dubacher said, “We have to keep working through the obstacles and roll with the punches until we find the right person in power who can make it happen.”
With the help of a Wildlife Conservation Society staffer in Afghanistan , the required bird export permit was secured from Afghan government officials. U.S. Fish & Wildlife authorities were helping to expedite the complete process but a new obstacle emerged: the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s concern about avian flu.
“It would be easier to move those mountains I’m looking at right now than to get that eagle here,” said Barbara Chepaitis of Altamont, currently teaching creative writing at Western State College of Colorado in Gunnison, the foothills of the Rockies.
Chepaitis, a catalyst behind the stalled eagle mission, is the author of “Feathers of Hope,” a book about Dubacher and the bird sanctuary recently published by SUNY Press. She has aides of Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY, working on trying to unravel the red tape and she has been in contact with officials from USDA, Fish & Wildlife and the White House.
The USDA has a ban on any bird imported from Afghanistan due to fears of avian flue. USDA officials rebuffed Chepaitis’ efforts to pay for testing and to agree to a mandatory quarantine period. They suggest shipping the bird to a foreign country that does not have an Afghan bird ban, waiting 90 days until the bird establishes residency and applying for an import permit from the USDA.
“I’ve been arguing all along that this is a rescue going to a sanctuary and not a bird import going into the general population, so different rules should apply,”
The steppe eagle, a large bird of prey common in Afghanistan, was shot last month of a rifle range at in Afghanistan. Navy SEALs were training Afghan soldiers when the eagle landed on the rifle range. An afghan soldier shot and hit the bird, said the Navy SEAL.
The soldiers and others in his unit – which also includes Navy SEALs, Army Rangers and former Army Special Forces now employed as military contractors – gathered up the bird, bandaged its shattered wing, built a cage and helped with the eagles’ convalescence.
The soldiers named the eagle Mitch, after a snake in the raunchy comedy movie “Road Trip.” They feed it chicken and make do with limited supplies.
Dubacher told them how to install carpet in the cage and leave a bowl of water in which the eagle will soak its feet to counter sores and inflammation.
“While I wish Mitch wasn’t in this situation, it is nice to have something to take care of like this. The soldier wrote in an e-mail. “He kind of takes the edge off everything.”
The soldier and his unit are scheduled to return to the U.S. in about a month.
“We just hope that the bureaucratic problems don’t get in the way of doing the right thing and getting this eagle to a better place.” He wrote.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

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 some neighbors don’t know that she cares for squirrels, pigeons and other creatures in need from her Manhattan apartment.
The curious fluffy bird spent the night frolicking in the rescuer’s bathtub before making the four hours journey to the Berkshire Bird Paradise, where she was greeted by a gaggle of  more>>

 

July 14, 2010
Afghan Eagle’s rehab grounded

By Paul Grondahl – staff writer - Albany Times Union

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.

“I fear he will be killed soon unless rescued,” Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Craig White of the Navy SEALs write in an email from Camp Scorpion in Afghanistan. “He tires to fly, cut cannot get off the ground. Its living conditions are the best with what we have, but not great. It is a cage the size of a small walk-in-closet with rocks on the bottom and a shelf with a ramp”

White wrote seeking the assistance of Peter Dubacher, who runs Berkshire Bird Paradise
www.birdparadise.com
in Grafton, NY and who has taken in 20 wounded eagles over the past three decades. White found Dubacher’s website and sent an urgent request for help since he fears for the eagles’ fate once his unit returns to the U.S. in about two months.

“I doubt that the crew relieving us will want to put the effort into caring for it and we do not have the authority or capability to bring it back with us,” White wrote.

I would be honored to help the eagle because I am so proud of the bravery of our soldiers who are willing to stick their necks out for a bird,” said Dubacher, a former Army cook who served in the late 1960s in Panama, where he bought parrots being sold as pets in the vegetable stands of Panama City and set them free.

“Unfortunately, it’s become sort of a mission impossible to get the eagle out of Afghanistan because of all the bureaucracy. I told the boys over there not to get their hopes up to high,” Dubacher said.

Based on a photo of the wounded bird White e-mailed, Dubacher identified it as a steepe eagle, a large bird of prey common in Afghanistan, a migratory bird that traverses a wide habitat of deserts, steppes and savannahs form Africa to India and all across Central Asia and Europe.

“It’s a dull, brownish color and not very pretty to look at,” Dubacher said. “it’s not in the same class as our bald eagle, but the effort and care the soldiers put into saving the bird is remarkable.”
The stepped eagle was shot earlier this month on a rifle range, where Navy SEALs were training Afghan soldiers. According to White, the afghan soldier had one bullet left in his rifle, the eagle landed out on the rifle range “and he decided to take a shot at it, and unfortunately hit it.”

The SEALs gather up the battered, bloody bird, bandaged its wing and helped it convalesce.

After getting the e-mail from Afghanistan, Dubacher enlisted help from Barbara Chepaitis of Altamont, an author and creative writing teacher who has just published with SUNY Press a book about Dubacher and his bird sanctuary titled. “Feathers of Hope.” It is being shipped to bookstores this week.

Chepaitis contacted the office on Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY and an aide checked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, where officials were not optimistic about bringing the eagle stateside.

“It ripped my heart out when I found out we can’t help these soldiers in a dangerous situation who just want to help a wounded bird. It’s almost as if the eagle has become a little piece of their soul.” Said Chepaitis, whose book explores connections between humans and birds.

Chepaitis opens her book with an Emily Dickinson poem: “Hope is the thing with feathers/That perches in the soul:/And sings the tune without the words,/And never stops at all…”

Tom Alvarez, a spokesman for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Office’s Northeast regional office, outlines a litany of regulations that are aligned against bringing the steppe eagle to Rensselaer County.

For starters, a treaty signed at the Convention on International Trade and Endangered Species, CITES, comes into play. It regulates endangered species, including the steppe eagle, which is listed as a bird of “least concern” with an estimated population worldwide of 10,000 birds. The treaty requires that a permit for export is issued from Afghanistan, where steppe eagles are prized for hunting among falconry devotees. It’s unlikely the Afghanistan government would make such a permit request a priority while war is raging, Alvarez said.

To be allowed to enter the U.S. in addition to the CITES export permit form the host country, the eagle needs a U.S. wildlife conservation act permit and an appendix 2 permit. Such permits take at least 90 days to process, Alverez said. And there are concerns about parasite or diseases the bird may carry.
“U.S. troops have to follow the rules like everyone else,” Alvarez said. “This isn’t going to be easy, but there are exceptions made.”

Alvarez said Schumer’s aides were working with officials in the U.S. Wildlife’s legislative affairs office to try to streamline the process.

Meanwhile, Dubacher, who has manged to rescue and rehabilitate numerous eagles given up as lost causes – one poisoned by the Exxon Valdez oil spill, another mauled by a grizzly bear – is ready to give the Afghanistan eagle a good home.

“Pete has devoted his life to saving birds and he can guarantee that the eagle will have a safe haven for the rest of its life.” Chepaitis said. “That eagle is not a terrorist. We should grant it political asylum.”

 

News update July 3, 2010

To Save an Eagle
by Barbara Chepaitis

If you were a soldier in the Vietnam war, would you spend your money and your time setting captive birds free? If you were serving in Afghanistan, would you stop to save a bird that was shot? Pete Dubacher did when he was in service in the Vietnam era. Two US servicemen in Afghanistan did the same just a few weeks ago. Now they need your help.

For 35 years Pete has been running Berkshire Bird Paradise, a sanctuary for more than 1200 birds, many of which are permanently disabled. His residents include 18 disabled eagles, which breed and raise young that are later released into the wild. When Pete was in service in Panama, he saw caged birds caught from the rainforest for sale in the markets. Feeling bad for both the people and the birds, he chose a solution that's typical of him. He bought the birds and set them free.

Because of that experience, he very much wants to help two young servicemen stationed in Afghanistan who rescued an eagle after it was shot. In spite of difficult conditions, these young men have continued to care for the bird, building it a cage, feeding it, doing whatever they can to keep it alive. But it's clear that the bird will never fly again, and they're worried that it won't survive beyond their deployment. They asked Pete if he'd take it in, and help them get it to the US.

Yes, and yes. Of course he will. However, that's where the hard part begins. Pete knows how difficult it can be to bring a bird into the US, so he called me, asking for my help. I'm author of the book Feathers of Hope, which is about Berkshire Bird Paradise and the human connection with birds, and I'm a long-time admirer of his work. Knowing that we'd need political and media support, I called Senator Schumer's office, and found a young woman who is very eager to expedite this. She contacted Federal Fish and Wildlife, whose first response was 'no.' You can't 'import' eagles into the US. Not under any circumstances, because they're - um - protected.

I contended that we're rescuing, not importing, and that rescue is protection, but fortunately we don't have to wend our way down that slippery slope. As it turns out the bird is a Steppe eagle rather than a golden or bald, and so it falls under different rules and regs. Caroline at Senator Schumer's has found some very nice people at Fish and Wildlife, and we're trying to get through the paperwork and permits as quickly as possible, because the bird is beginning to develop some problems and we don't want it to die of red tape.

As we wait, we're seeking help in two different ways. Send emails to Fish and Wildlife in support of Eagle Mitch, wounded in the war and waiting to come home. Encourage them in their fine work of speeding this along. Or email the White House to do the same. Or if you know anyone in the media who would be interested in this story, let them know as well, because media coverage will grease the wheels of transport. And speaking of transport, we might need that as well. . . .

In my book I talk about how we long to save what's wild because that also honors what is wild and free in ourselves. Even to try to save a bird is, in many ways, to save your soul. I want to honor what's wild and free in these boys, and in this eagle. The young men did a most admirable, compassionate, and human thing in a difficult situation. My goal is to see that they get exactly what they want as their reward.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

News update June 30, 2010

US Soldiers Save a wounded Eagle in Afghanistan

Hello, I am active duty in the military and currently on deployment in Afghanistan. The reason I am writing you concerns and injured Eagle that our camp has in our possession that I fear will be killed soon unless rescued.

The eagle was shot by an Afghan soldier at a range one day. I was not there at the time, but apparently he had one bullet left in his rifle and the eagle landed down range and he decided to take a shot at it, and unfortunately hit it. It was hit in it's wing and was not able to fly. We (the Americans on this camp) took it in and nursed it back to health, but I don't think it will not fly again. I'm not medically qualified in anyway, but it's bandages are off now and when we let it out of it's cage we built for him, he tries to fly, but cannot get off the ground.

It's living conditions are the best with what we have, but not great. It is a cage the size of a small walk in closet with rocks on the bottom and a shelf with a ramp.

Like I said before, I fear that if it is not rescued out of this place, it will not live much longer. We redeploy back to the states in about 3 months and I doubt that the crew relieving us will want to put the effort into caring for it and we do not have the authority or capability to bring it back with us.

Can you help?

Thank you.

   

This is the Eagle that was shot.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

--------------------------------------------------------------

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.

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

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

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

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.

We just put up a Paypal donation button - If you would like to help us

We are now oil free we are heating our bird and plant areas with wood we cut from our surrounding acreage

If anyone wants to get rid of an outside wood furnace that would make our lives a lot easier.

Friday May 11, 2007

Two baby Bald Eagles hatched by a pair of disabled parents at the Berkshire Bird Paradise in Grafton NY.

The sanctuary is having a great Mother's Day as three new chicks hatched over a period of 6 days from two disabled parents.

Peter Dubacher, the director and owner of the sanctuary said "On Thursday I went to check on the babies and two were hatched and one egg just starting to crack. On Friday morning I went to check the nest again my heart sunk as the nest was empty. I frantically started to search the compound and I heard some little peeps from under the nesting platform, I found all three chicks in the hay and returned them to their nest. What a relief that was. I thank goodness it was a warm day. All three seem to be doing well"

Dubacher said "Everyone told me it's impossible to breed eagles in captivity, He says it’s rare for two disabled bald eagles parents to have healthy offspring. The Mother's name is Veronica, She was injured and coated with oil during the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989. The US Postal Sevice paid for and flew her and 6 other American Bald Eagles to the sanctuary. The father is called The General, he was hit by an airplane in Moab, Utah.

Dubacher is licensed through the state Department of Environmental and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to breed captive eagles. He has been raising birds for 30 years.

Dr. Ward Stone, who for 36 years has served as Wildlife Pathologist for the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation and who was the first scientist to identify West Nile Virus. Dr.Ward Stone refers to the Berkshire Bird Paradise’s Peter Dubacher as “The Mother Teresa of birds”. and he does not recall anyone sucessfully breeding Bald Eagles in NY State before Dubacher.

For over 30 years he has taken in wounded and unwanted birds of all kinds. and they stay with him for life.” Zoos want only perfect specimens, he explains. Many of the birds Peter rescues have some disablities, some are missing all or a portion of a wing, some are blind, some missing a leg. These birds would never survive in the wild.

The sanctuary cares for over 2,000 birds and is home to 100 species. Emus, Sandhill cranes, parrots, Falcons, owls and macaws live there. as pet owners tire of these exotic birds or just can't keep them any longer.. Other species include swans crows, pigeons – including the white pigeons released at weddings and funerals and then forgotten. A New York City policewoman once dropped off a small flock of chicks she had found in a garbage can, a discarded Easter gift.

The American Bald Eagle was placed on the endangered species list in the 1970s. Successful conservation methods such as the banning DDT and eagle hunting led to a classification change of “threatened.”

The Berkshire Bird Paradise is open to the public for visits from May 24 until autumn. An admission fee is requested of visitors. Directions and information about the sanctuary are available by telephone, at 1-518-279-3801, or at the sanctuary’s web site: www.birdparadise.org

Check out our new Amazon Bird Store
What a great way to support us

Baby Golden Eaglet (Dottie) two weeks old
Baby Golden Eaglet (Dottie) and mother Marilyn
Dottie peeking out of the nest at six weeks old Click here to see more of Golden Eaglets