Fisherman Sees Bald Eagle Swimming Towards His Boat, Gives Him A Hand

Jul 19, 2020

A fisherman in British Columbia, Canada, found himself catching a different kind of “fish” while out on his boat in Nanoose Bay. A young bald eagle was swimming nearby and fighting to stay above the water. Thankfully, the fisherman immediately caught on to the severity of the situation. He acted quickly and called a local bird shelter, which led to the majestic bird being rescued.

The waters of Nanoose Bay are a deep blue, and they appear to be nearly endless. We don’t know how or why the eagle ended up in this water, but we do know that it was in dire need of help. What a tragedy it would be to have such a majestic creature drown in the water.

That’s exactly what Don Dunbar thought, the noble fisherman who resolved to try to get the eagle into his fishing net. He gently maneuvered his boat so as not to rock the waves or crash into the poor avian. There was nothing stopping him from just ignoring the eagle, but Don Dunbar has a thoughtful and noble heart. “It was a pretty unique situation. I thought people might be interested,” he said, according to Times Colonist.

Eventually, the swimming eagle made its way right over to the boat. Since eagles don’t know what a boat even is, the bird must have been very desperate to get help from the fisherman. For all the eagle knew, the boat could have been a larger animal! However, the intelligence of birds is something that can never be underestimated; perhaps the eagle had seen this man around his waters before?

Once up against the wall of the boat, we can see just how emaciated the eagle looked. It almost appears in the fashion of an oversized turkey! The water had clearly done a number to the bird. It’s amazing to see how easily it floated, though, which Don Dunbar comments on as well. 

“Wanna come in?” Dunbar inquires in the video, and the eagle looks back at him hopefully.

As we can see in the video, Dunbar tries to call the eagle over to one side of the boat, and the eagle obeys! Even as the boat drifts slightly away, the eagle attempts to swim after it! Eventually, the fisherman places his net into the water and manages to scoop out the bird. The bird isn’t able to stand, walk, or fly. It must have been completely exhausted!

After placing the eagle on the back of his boat, Dunbar planned to drive the bird closer to the shore. The bird didn’t even flinch once the engines started, and it only kept drying out its feathers. Eventually, the bird moved onto a sitting area where it watched Dunbar captain the vessel. One could only imagine the thanks the eagle had for such a kind human.

The eagle had a difficult time balancing with its sharp claws, so the fisherman tossed him a jacket to try and give it a bit of grip. After a bit of time, the eagle tried to take off into the air but ended up crashing back into the boat! It looks like the soggy avian won’t be trying that again soon. As Times Colonist reported, Dunbar took the eagle to a local bird shelter where it received some basic care. The caretakers also discovered that the eagle was suffering from an infection, which was cured with the help of antibiotics.

Have you ever seen such a majestic bird in such dire straits? Do you or your friends own any birds yourself? How would you have handled the situation? We want to hear all about it.