by Bea Peterson
After 137 days of wrangling with red tape, Mitch, a wounded steppe eagle rescued by US Navy SEALs in Afghanistan, arrived at the Berkshire Bird Paradise on Monday, November 8.
Mitch was shot in a wing by an Afghan soldier at a training base. The SEALs saw the incident and rescued the bird. They, along with Army Rangers and several more individuals, cared for the eagle, which lost the lower portion of its right wing. A search of the internet by a SEAL operator connected them to the Berkshire Bird Paradise in Grafton and owner Peter Dubacher. Dubacher, who is not the least bit internet savvy asked Barbara Chepaitis to do a follow up on the email. Chepaitis is a writer and author from Altamont, NY. She stumbled on the sanctuary years ago and has recently completed a book on Dubacher and his lifetime of work with birds titled Feathers of Hope.
Perseverance Pays Off
From the time of that first call for help until the safe arrival of Mitch, the tenacious Chepaitis met challenge after challenge on what many would consider a hopeless task. First she was told by the US Department of Fish and Wildlife that it was illegal to import any bird from Afghanistan for fear of avian flu. Mitch tested negative for the virus. “The people in Senator Chuck Schumer’s office were wonderful and a constant source of support,” said Chepaitis. They arranged for the Fish and Wildlife permit once it was determined Mitch was a steppe eagle and not a golden eagle, which is illegal to import. The next requirement was a permit from the Afghan Minister of Agriculture. Then the bird had to be quarantined in Afghanistan and again in the US. “Several times along the way I thought we probably can’t do this,” said Chepaitis. “But I didn’t want the many people who had worked to save this bird to come home bitter.” So she persevered. In her search for help she discovered the Office of Public Engagement, set up by President Obama in the White House. “It’s for citizens who are looking for help. They were immediately responsive.” Dave Lawson of the World Conservation Society, said Chepaitis, and the Senator’s office were responsible for getting the necessary export papers. Once the red tape was out of the way Chepaitis said, “for the first time in my life I felt I had been represented by my government.”
The Journey
Mitch arrived in Virginia from Afghanistan via military transport. “Pilots N Paws are my heroes,” said Chepaitis. They brought Mitch from Virginia to Newburgh where the bird was quarantined for 30 days. But the adventure was not over. At the end of the quarantine Chepaitis drove Mitch from Newburgh to Grafton on Monday, November 8, in a snowstorm! “I was terrified,” she recalled. Mitch’s new home was so near, yet so far.
Peter Dubacher was pleased to give Mitch a permanent home at the Berkshire Bird Paradise. “It a great feeling to be associated with people who put themselves in harm’s way for us,” he said on Monday, November 15, referring to the SEALs who saved the eagle. “It’s nice to know that men of this calibre would take time to rescue a bird.” Dubacher believes Mitch is a juvenile or yearling. “Young birds are not savvy and often get in trouble like this one did,” he said. The fact that it is young, Dubacher said, is good because it should adapt well to its new environment. Judging by the bird’s size Dubacher also thinks Mitch may be a female. Only time will tell. Right now Mitch is sharing quarters with Helga, a blind bald eagle that has been at the sanctuary for 20 years. Not far from them are two more bald eagles. Eddy was a gunshot victim and has been in Grafton for 10 years, and Zipper arrived from Juno, Alaska, 20 years ago after he was mauled by a bear. The young eagle shows no sign of stress and appears at home in the new surroundings.
Dubacher said he has had a lot of calls about Mitch as a result of all the publicity surrounding his rescue and journey. However, the sanctuary is closed for the winter and visitors won’t have an opportunity to see the steppe eagle until Memorial Day weekend 2011.
According to the internet, “The steppe eagle breeds from Romania east through the south Russian and Central Asian steppes to Mongolia. The European and Central Asian birds winter in Africa, and the eastern birds in India. It lays 1-3 eggs in a stick nest in a tree. Throughout its range it favors open dry habitats, such as desert, semi-desert, steppes or savannah.”
Barbara Chepaitis’ book, Feathers of Hope, is available at the Bird Paradise and on the internet at SUNY Press. She is already working on her next book which will be about Mitch and his journey. A big help in that venture, she said, will be a journal kept by former Army Ranger Scott Hickman who helped care for the wounded steppe eagle in Afghanistan.