Hi Guys
I heard this on the radio and thought it was a good story.
The guy commented that is was difficult to do as the eagle is afraid of heights.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/7274737.stm

Golden eagle returns to the skies



Barry Byther has been re-teaching Methuselah to fly since last year
A 31-year-old golden eagle, which has spent most of its life in captivity, has taken its first flight in the Scottish hills.
Methuselah was taken from the wild at the age of four and has spent most of her life in a cage in Yorkshire.

Last year she was released into the care of Elite Falconry in Fife, where trainers have been working on her fitness and teaching her to fly again.

Now she has taken her first wild flight in Glenshee, Perthshire.

Barry Blyther, of Elite Falconry, said the Methuselah, who was taken illegally from the wild in 1979, had needed intensive coaching after spending almost two decades in a variety of aviaries.

"The idea was to try and re-develop the bird's ability to fly and give her, in the last stages of her life, the chance to express herself freely over the hills of Scotland "

Barry Blyther
Elite Falconry

"When she eventually came to us we ended up with a bird which was incredibly unfit, pretty lackadaisical, not really interested in the world around her and certainly not in any condition to do any sort of flying," he added.

Trainers started by setting her short flights in Fife, before taking the bird to Perthshire to fly her on the hills of Glenshee and surrounding moors this week.

"The idea was to try to re-develop the bird's ability to fly and give her, in the last stages of her life, the chance to express herself freely over the hills of Scotland," said Mr Bythler.

However she is still having some difficulty in adapting to her freedom and trainers report that she has been "a little out of sorts" in the unfamiliar territory.

Mr Blyther said that though she is progressing well, she still lacks confidence, especially when flying against the wind when she "loses her nerve" and swoops down to perch in the heather.

Though usually birds at the centre are given the spring and summer off, when no hunting is done because of breeding seasons, Methuselah will continue her training.

"Hopefully we'll be able to find a few hills round and about in Fife and on a breezy day we can prop her up into a more gentle wind so we can introduce her to the breeze more slowly and let her develop her confidence," he added.

The aim is that by the time the hunting season re-opens in October, the bird will have forgotten her previous fears and will be able to re-claim the skies with confidence.

that is a great story. I go to school at Auburn University where one of our mascots is a golden eagle. Before each home football game, Nova circles the stadium landing at midfield. Pretty awesome site to see. Here is a link to a video of our previous raptor, Tiger. He developed skin cancer on his foot and is now retired.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=WrGy4IyEqcQ