WALNUT CREEK (KRON) — Firefighters in San Ramon discovered an injured Golden Eagle, and transported it for treatment to the Lindsay Wildlife Rehabilitation Hospital Friday.
The rare bird believed to be a young female came in with head trauma and possible rodenticide toxicity, which results from the predatory birds eating small rodents that have been poisoned by exterminators.
The Golden Eagle was tracked as part of a study by East Bay Regional Park District, and brought in to Lindsay Wildlife Rehabilitation Hospital Friday morning after fire fighters in San Ramon discovered the injured bird.
“Weak and dehydrated on presentation to the Lindsay Wildlife Rehabilitation Hospital, the eagle was noticeably perkier after three days of intensive care,” said Associate Veterinarian Lana Krol. “Our goal now is to rehabilitate the bird back to her usual feisty self, and then prepare her for release. Fortunately, the hospital has an exceptional veterinary team and can provide the intensive therapy this bird needs in order to get her back in the sky!”
“It looked like it was pretty tired and then we tried to catch it and (she) landed on ledge of the window but (she) couldn’t fly more than 50-feet,” said firefighter Chris Connley. “It didn’t look right. It’s pretty rare to see this beautiful Golden Eagle sitting on the sidewalk.”
The enormous bird weights about 11 pounds and is on the road to recovery.
From the GPS tracking, scientists can see that this young Golden Eagle has kept mainly to the northern Altamont Pass, Mount Diablo and the Dublin Hills.

