Special to the Tribune

SAEGERTOWN — When a majestic bald eagle was found near death in Warren County last winter, many Meadville area people quickly sprung into action to save her life — and then to give the remarkable bird a name.

The greater Meadville community came up with 25 suggestions after a request was issued to submit names for the American bald eagle currently recuperating at Tamarack Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center near Saegertown.

“Freedom” topped the list, submitted seven times; and “Spirit” was mentioned four times to place second. With both names deemed appropriate for an eagle all hope will soar freely once again, the Tamarack board of directors voted to use both names and call the 4-year-old female Freedom’s Spirit while she is in residence there.

Financial donations were also generous. More than $1,000 has been collected so far for the eagle’s care. Several schools held fundraisers. Seton School’s fifth-grade class alone earned $400 and students at Fort LeBoeuf’s Robison Elementary School raised more than $200, for example.

While the eagle’s story was cause for action and concern, the good news is that Freedom’s Spirit is well on the road to recovery.

Through natural healing and physical therapy she has gained enough wing strength to be transferred into Tamarack’s 40-foot-long flight building. Volunteers at Tamarack report that she is exercising her wings by moving from perch to perch, though is presently only capable of flying to five-foot perches.

“It’s a slow process,” Tamarack Executive Director Sue DeArment reports, “As long as we see improvement, we are happy and hopeful that she will recover.”

Freedom’s Spirit’s appetite has also improved. She feasts on thawed lab-raised rats and thawed farm-fed pheasant and quail. Though she’s not fond of fish, a wading pool has been set out for her. She’s been observed splashing in the water.

Her troubles began soon after a car struck her in late January. Quick action aided the eagle’s chances of recovery. On Jan. 23, three workers spotted the injured eagle by the side of a road and took her to a veterinarian. The vet immediately contacted Pennsylvania Game Commission, and an officer then took the eagle to Tamarack. Immediately DeAr-ment, with the assistance of Carol Holmgren of Meadville and four Allegheny College student interns, examined her and dressed her wounds.

When contacted for advice, Dr. Jamie Lindstrom of Ohio’s Animal Clinic Northview encouraged them to bring the eagle in for an evaluation. Eagles with wing injuries frequently do not survive — a primary reason is infection. Another is the way their hollow bones must act as part of their respiratory system.

On Jan. 25, Lindstrom operated on the eagle, inserting pins into the injured bone. Lindstrom, who has worked with eagles for 25 years, considers this one an outstanding female. If all goes well he’s hopeful that she’ll be released by summer’s end.

Freedom’s Spirit wears two bands on her ankle. A silver one is a National Banding Association number; a blue one indicates that she’s from New York State. Dr. Sarah Sargent, a local Audubon representative and Tamarack board member, used this information to contact Peter Nye, an endangered species biologist with New York’s Department of Natural Resources. In May 2004, Nye banded the baby eagle in the Catskill Mountains in New York State.

The bird’s presence in this area demonstrates that eagles are drawn to northwestern Pennsylvania’s waterways. Through the efforts of many people, rivers and creeks have become cleaner, and the American bald eagle, a symbol of our great nation, recognizing a rich, healthy habitat, is moving back in.

And soon, the Tamarack staff hopes, one more eagle will be released into this eagle-friendly environment.