A rare Bateleur eagle that escaped Thursday from Carolina Raptor Center in Huntersville was spotted Friday afternoon in a tree at a nearby nature preserve, officials at the bird rescue center said. But the bird remains on the loose. A notice announcing the sighting was posted on the Raptor Center website at 3:50 p.m. Friday. Here’s the earlier alert sent out asking the public to help locate the bird.

Public Asked To Help Locate Rare Bird Missing From Carolina Raptor Center

SOURCE: Carolina Raptor Center
HUNTERSVILLE, NC (November 20, 2009) – The Charlotte-area public is being asked to be on the lookout for a rare Bateleur eagle which escaped Thursday morning from Carolina Raptor Center in Latta Plantation Nature Preserve in northwestern Mecklenburg County.

The eagle is a medium-sized female covered mostly in black feathers and with blue-gray feathers on her wings. She has a wingspan between four and five feet. She was also wearing leather straps around her ankles at the time of her escape. She will likely be roosting high in a tree.

A photo of the eagle is attached to this press release and pictures and other information are available at: http://www.carolinaraptorcenter.org/africaneagles. In addition, there is a second female Bateleur eagle at Carolina Raptor Center that can be made available for media photographers.

The missing eagle was last seen Thursday evening and has not been spotted since. It is believed that she is still in Latta Plantation Nature Preserve. A team of staff members and volunteers are searching the 1,343 acres of the Preserve by horseback and off terrain vehicles. It’s critical that this bird is found as Bateleur eagles are not adapted to North Carolina’s climate or habitat.

“We’re working with other wildlife organizations throughout the area to mobilize traps and nets to catch her,” says Nicki Dardinger, Director of Husbandry and Training at Carolina Raptor Center. “But we need the help of the public to locate her in the nature preserve.” The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the Audubon Society are assisting Carolina Raptor Center staff and volunteers in the search.

Thursday’s retrieval efforts using food as bait and later a bucket loader were unsuccessful, and darkness prevented the search from continuing into Thursday night. Searchers restarted their surveillance at 6 a.m. Friday, but as of 2 p.m. the eagle had not yet been located.

If the eagle is sighted, please call the Raptor Center’s Rescue Line at (704) 875-5421 x 107. Those interested in volunteering should report to the visitor’s center at Carolina Raptor Center at 6000 Sample Road in Huntersville, NC. Volunteers should bring binoculars and wear clothing suitable for walking in the woods.

The eagle was expected to be exhibited Saturday afternoon at Carolina Raptor Center’s 25th Anniversary Friends & Family Picnic, a members-only celebration on Saturday, November 21 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. A trainer was working with the bird Thursday, when the leather leash she was tethered with snapped, and she flew off.