Bald Eagle Rescued in Ocean City

By MADDY VITALE There is no ordinary day in the life of staffers at the Humane Society of Ocean City. So, when Phil Bellucci, the shelter’s executive director, got a call Tuesday morning that something appeared to be wrong with a bald eagle that was outside of a home at 226 East Atlantic Ave., he and Courtney Venzie, director of operations, went to assess the situation. “I got done with a rescue of a dog that was just adopted and got out of the house. I got back in the office, thought I’d do some paperwork and I get a call about the eagle,” Bellucci said. “It was just crazy. There’s no such thing as an ordinary day here.” The eagle dubbed, “Eddie” by Bellucci and Venzie, was captured later in the day. “All I know is, I got there around 10 a.m. and there was a huge eagle in the front yard. He looked out of it. Courtney and I got in close range of him. He flew slowly out of our range. He was really weak,” Bellucci said. “He didn’t show signs of trauma, though, so hopefully he will be good.” Because eagles are endangered, Bellucci notified the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife. The eagle didn't have any outward signs of trauma, but was not acting well. They left the eagle alone and just monitored it while awaiting Fish and Wildlife. Neighbors also helped out by watching, not going near the endangered bird – just watching. “We went around to the neighbors and they checked on the eagle,” he said. “There are so many people who care about animals.” By 5 p.m., Fish and Wildlife staff and HSOC worked together to catch the eagle within a short time and transported it to Tri State Bird Rescue in Delaware in hopes of making a full recovery and a return to the wild, Bellucci said. The capture was caught on video and is on HSOC's Facebook page. “This shows that when everyone comes together, we can do great things,” Bellucci said. “We hope Eddie makes a full recovery.” Bellucci noted that Venzie will check the status of the eagle on Thursday. Currently, the shelter is in need of updated traps for animal control and animal rescues. Recently, there have been more cats dumped in town and in order to trap them and bring them to the shelter, there needs to be better working traps, Bellucci said. The Humane Society of Ocean City is located at 1 Shelter Road in Ocean City. For more information or to donate visit https://hsocnj.com/ Paid for by Michael DeVlieger