Eagles fall into couple's backyard

A P.E.I. couple was astonished on Saturday when two bald eagles fell from the sky into their Stratford backyard.

Andrew Trivett was taking down plaster in his century-old house when he heard his wife, Lanabeth Barkhouse, yell from outside.

"All of a sudden the crows, of which there's many around here, got in a big uproar," said Trivett.

"She looked up into the sky and saw this strange thing coming down and the crows were going nuts."

Two bald eagles dropped into the backyard, their talons interlocked. Uncertain what to do, he called his friend, wildlife biologist Rosemary Curley. Curley said she could come to help. She was about 20 minutes away.

Trivett said taking photos didn't cross his mind while he waited for help.

"It seemed like it was at a scene of an accident and you don't want to take pictures," he said.

Curley is a birder and wildlife specialist, but not an eagle specialist. She had to call up colleagues in New Brunswick to figure out what to do.

"Put a blanket over them to calm them down and then unlock their talons, one at a time," she said.

"I was glad we didn't have to do that."

When Curley arrived to separate the animals, the eagles had relaxed. Their talons released and then they flew off in opposite directions. The birds were both males, and Curley speculated one had invaded the other's territory.

There have only been two other recorded cases of eagles getting tangled on P.E.I. In one case, the eagles were freed and in the other, the two were found dead. Curley said eagle entanglements are probably more common than people might think.