Heather Wright/The Independent

Chris Verrall never expected he’d help a bald eagle down from a tree.

But that’s exactly what the City of Sarnia arborist did Feb. 11 after an eagle was caught in a tree near
Dresden.

An eagle-eyed resident spotted the bird in distress hanging from its leg in a tree and called the Bluewater Centre for Raptor Rehabilitation near Wyoming for help. Lynn Eves put out the call help to save the injured bird from 20-feet in the air.

Verrall, who lived outside of Dresden, answered the call, bringing his family along to watch. Verrall, who has helped rescue smaller birds, such as owls in the past, said the bald eagle was a little nervous as he made his way up. When he got close to the bird, Verrell talked to the eagle and offering a hand to it, which seemed to help.

There was some concern fishing line might be wrapped around the bird’s leg but Verrell says the eagle was trapped between two smaller branches.

“I was able to pull the two limbs apart,” he told The Independent. Verrell tucked the injured bird under his arm and made his way down.

“It was a miraculous recovery as we all stood and watched and celebrated with cheers when Chris reached the bottom of the tree safely,” wrote Eves in a social media post after the bird was freed.

Eves turned over the eagle to the Aviation Rehabilitation Clinic’s Erica diMuzio. “If Chris hadn’t rescued the eagle tonight, he most certainly would have been hanging by his leg all night long,” wrote diMuzio.

At first, the bird wasn’t using the injured leg and diMuzio was concerned it was dislocated. He also had some wounds on the wings from “flapping repeatedly trying to free himself and hitting his wing against the tree branches.” The eagle is putting weight on the leg and slowly recovering. diMuzio hopes it can be returned to its mate as soon as possible.

For his part, Verrell says the rescue was “amazing…super cool.” And his sons were also excited to get up close to an eagle. “They’re still talk about it so I think they’re pretty excited.”