When a kayaker was traveling down the South River, in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, he saw something staring back at him from the reeds that lined the water.

He never imagined that it would be this animal. 

Injured Animal

During the same day, a local bird rescuer by the name of Donna Cole received some information about an eagle who had been hit by a car on a highway.

A Maryland police officer managed to beat Donna and arrive first, directing traffic away from the bird who was trying to seek shelter in the South River.

When Donna did arrive, she soon got frustrated when she realized that the bird was hiding in a very difficult spot.

“It was a deeply wooded area with a lot of bramble, sticky bushes that made it impossible to get the eagle and then bring it back,” Donna told The Dodo.

Donna immediately knew that this rescue would be impossible to conduct on the land, so she had to do it from the water.

Difficult Rescue

The rescuer contacted John Flood, a board member of the Arundel Rivers Federation, who had a boat and was more than happy to help.

“John was pretty much immediately up for this adventure,” added Donna.

As they boated down the river, the pair of rescuers managed to spot the eagle immediately. Unfortunately, it managed to escape again, leaving the rescuers puzzled as to where he was.   

The rescuers tried to find the injured animal again under the scorching sun, but they had no luck, so they decided to call it a day.

Donna headed home to gear up for another search party when she received a call from Owl Moon Raptor Center, informing her that a kayaker saw the eagle on the other side of the river. Donna was overjoyed.

“It was like two miracles — that the police officer was able to find the eagle the first time, and that the kayaker was able to find the bird the second,” said Donna excitedly.

Second try

Donna and John made their way down to the river again… this time determined to come back with the bird.

“John and I were both like, ‘Okay, we’ve got to do this’,” Donna said. “We’ve come this far. We’ve got to get this bird the help it needs,” she said.

The rescuers quickly found the kayaker who was patiently waiting right by the eagle.

John, who was navigating the shallow water, pulled up as close to the bird as he could get and Donna jumped into the 2 feet of mud, trying to grab the bird.

And, she did! Even though she lost her shoe in the process, Donna managed to grab the injured eagle and successfully get it into the boat.

They immediately brought him to the Owl Moon Raptor Center, where he would receive treatment until he recovered.

Donna couldn’t be happier. She is immensely grateful to everybody who helped her get this incredible animal the help it needed. This sure is one of those rescues she will never forget.

“This was the longest, the most impossible rescue I’ve ever done. It was such a relief to finally get this bird,” concluded Donna.