Chelan County employee aids injured bald eagle

Chelan County Public Works employee Daylon Harn. Rescued bald eagle, insert. Photos courtesy: Chelan County Public Works.

When Chelan County Public Works driver Daylon Harn recently stopped his county truck to remove a deer carcass from the roadway, he was a little shocked at what came out of the bushes.

“I walked up to it and out of the brush pops this bald eagle,” Harn said.

The eagle’s right wing was obviously injured. Wildlife experts later assessed that the adult eagle may have been injured while fighting with two large vultures that were feeding at the carcass when Harn stopped.

Harn spotted the embattled eagle on January 30 while checking roads in the Entiat District. He and a neighbor, who also had been watching the eagle, called U.S. Fish and Wildlife, but the federal agency was busy with a recent missing person’s case.

Over the next couple of days, Harn, who’s been working the weekend shift this winter, continued to stop and check on the injured eagle while out inspecting roads.

It seemed to be doing well but couldn’t fly long distances; the injured eagle was staying in the area near the intersection of Entiat River Road and Entiat Way.

“The bird still had a lot of life in it,” Harn said.

On February 1, Harn went to check on the eagle again. A neighbor had called a private wildlife rescue company. Harn helped the rescue company capture the eagle. A blanket was tossed over the big bird and it was put in a cage to be transported to a rehabilitation facility in Pullman.

A recent hire at Public Works, Harn grew up in the Entiat Valley and continues to live there today. He enjoys being in the hills around Entiat and playing a hand in keeping his hometown safe.

So why did the Public Works driver keep going back to make sure the eagle was safe?

“That’s our nation’s bird,” Harn said.