A Haines man was rattled last week when a mature bald eagle flew head-on into his pickup truck and became entangled in its lumber rack.
Dave Nussbaumer had left his Letnikof Estates house and was driving toward town on Mud Bay Road Friday when the bird smashed into his 1998 Ford Ranger.
“(The eagle) came, I think, out of a tree. He was diving right down. Within just a split second I saw him, heading right toward the truck. He just slammed into the truck,” Nussbaumer said. “It just happened so suddenly. I didn’t even have time to brake. I couldn’t believe it.”
Nussbaumer said there was a “big bang” and some loose feathers. A wing was hanging over the driver’s side door, so he exited the vehicle’s passenger side and phoned for help.
Three workers from American Bald Eagle Foundation, including education and outreach coordinator Leia Minch responded.
“We got there, and there was a truck with a bald eagle entangled in the roof rack,” Minch said. “She (the eagle) was in pretty bad condition.” The bird’s wrist was wrapped around the metal rack. Minch said she thinks the eagle hit the vehicle, got stuck, and tried to free itself.
Wearing thick gloves, Minch climbed onto the hood of the truck, and gently untangled the eagle, who “made some pretty painful sounds,” Nussbaumer said.
Injuries included a broken humerus, a wrist abrasion, and severely torn skin from the neck to the shoulder and back. The bird also suffered had a clouded-over eye.
A brood patch (an opening of feathers in between the legs used to incubate eggs) indicated the bird was a female caring for eaglets.
The eagle was sent to Sitka’s Alaska Raptor Center, where she died during surgery.
“Now dad has to take care of all the eaglets,” Minch said.
Nussbaumer’s truck is dented above the driver’s side windshield from the bird’s impact. He said he’ll be watching for eagles much closer now. He’s curious as to why the bald eagle flew into his truck. “I thought they were supposed to have such great vision,” he said.
Minch said Nussbaumer did the right thing by immediately calling. “You could just tell he felt absolutely terrible.”
Vehicular accidents are a common cause of injury to wildlife, Minch said. “When you live in a place with a high concentration of eagles like we have, it’s going to happen now and then.”