A father and his teenage son, Bryan Esbaugh and Wyatt, were fishing for smallmouth bass on Ponhook Lake in Queens County, N.S., when they unexpectedly caught a bald eagle. Wyatt, who used to feed bass to birds while fishing with friends, noticed the eagle following them around the lake. He thought the eagle might be waiting for them to catch a fish to locate the fish.
The eagle trailed them along the shore for about 30 minutes, skimming the water for a potential meal. As the eagle circled back for a final sweep of the lake, it grabbed their fishing lines and lures out of the water before flying away. The eagle got entangled in the lines, causing it to crash in the middle of the lake, flapping and struggling.
Bryan and Wyatt approached the eagle in their boat and discovered one hook in its beak and another in its foot. Wyatt carefully pulled the eagle out of the water and onto the boat. They managed to bring the eagle back to the dock, but as they were getting out of the boat, it slipped back into the lake and drifted away. Wyatt skillfully guided the boat to the shore where they wrapped the eagle in a towel, restrained it, and removed the hooks.
Dr. Jessica Rock, a veterinarian from the Cobequid Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, mentioned that while it’s not uncommon to treat birds caught in fishing gear, this case was unique. She commended Bryan and Wyatt for their efforts and advised them to contact the Department of Natural Resources in similar future situations for professional assistance with entangled animals.
Despite the ordeal, the eagle eventually regained its freedom. Bryan humorously named it the “Canadian White-Headed Lake Raptor” as a playful nod to a past incident involving Lake Ontario and Donald Trump.