Category: Eagles

Eagle Arrived Unconsious

A very sick young Golden Eagle was brought to Martin

This eagle arrived at night, as weak as could be. With doubts for recovery, Martin immediately began care. As the eagle struggled to even swallow, she received around the clock small feedings.

After about 24 hours with Martin’s care, the eagle showed some signs of perking up. After a day of just sitting still, when Martin arrived to feed her, she moved away from him.

On day three, she finally began to eat on her own, taking food from a rabbit’s carcass which is a fairly common meal for eagles.

She had a long road to recovery, being left mostly alone to regain her strength and gain weight.

About a month later, on release day, she weighed near a whopping 13 pounds and was very ready to return to the wild.

This eagle was released from C-Overlook in Cedar City by Martin. Because she was so big, he wanted to handle her himself.

Eagle’s Turkey Hunt FAIL

A sub-adult male golden eagle wedged between a metal fence and cinderblock wall at a home near the foothills in Parowan had been stuck for several days without food and water while suffering because of an unusually hot June. Fortunately the home owner returned just in the nick of time to find the eagle stuck in his back yard and called the SWF. Martin ran out immediately and was able to remove the eagle from the fence, brought it back to our rescue center and started its treatment for starvation, dehydration and minor scrapes and bruises. The eagle is now doing well and has been released back to the wild!

Eagle Ate Too Much to Fly

Martin and Susan were called out to the highway to rescue a Golden Eagle that was having trouble flying. After capturing the bird, Martin saw her crop was stuffed full. Since she was otherwise healthy, his first diagnosis was that she simply ate so much she could not get over a fence along the side of the highway.

For more information about Eagles along the highways, please click here.

After a night at the Rehab center, and much reduced crop size, she was released back the wild.

Golden Eagle Hit by Wind Turbine

In April we received a beautiful sub-adult male golden eagle that had been injured at the windfarm near Milford Utah. Its injuries were extensive with a severe concussion. Because of the concussion, it appeared to be blind in the right eye. It was unable to stand and we were afraid it may have had a spinal cord injury. Fortunately that was not the case.

After a week of intensive care, tube feeding fluids and medications the eagle slowly started to recover. Day by day we watched its progress from laying helplessly on its side to barely being able to stand, to walking around its chamber. Then one morning the eagle was sitting on a perch about two feet off the ground. That was a really great day.

His vision fully recovered and a couple of weeks later he started to fly to the upper perches in the flight chamber. After recovering to full health and strength I had the personal privilege to stand at the top of the mountain overlooking Cedar City and release that beautiful eagle back to the sky.

Frequently when we have an eagle ready to be returned to the wild we will seek out individuals or organizations that would like to participate in an eagle release and allow them to release the eagle back to the sky. On this occasion the organization I had contacted to participle in the eagle release did not return my phone call in a timely manner. The eagle was ready to go and as always is the case, the animal’s welfare comes first.

My Own Personal Eagle

Martin discusses his friendship with Scout the rescued Golden Eagle who is now one of our Wildlife Ambassadors.

Martin continues to travel throughout the west providing wildlife programs accompanied by his devoted companion, Scout.

In this Video: My Own Personal Eagle

A quote from Martin’s book, Healer of Angels:

“One of my greatest childhood fantasies was the desire to create a personal friendship with a wild eagle. I found myself with a love and fascination for these powerful creatures.”

Martin introduces Scout, a 17 year old rescued wild Golden Eagle. A farmer in Wyoming was threatening to shoot Scout so Martin went up to rescue him. Eagles are very special to him ever since first working with them back around the age of sixteen.

Martin noticed many characteristics about Golden Eagles like their intelligence, patience and personality. They could be silly, mischievous or serious. Mostly still, that they were wild animals and need to be respected as such.

It was a long dream of his to not only rescue and return Eagles to the wild, but to have a Golden Eagle for Falconry and to be friends with. It is a very rare opportunity to say that one of his dearest friends is a full grown wild eagle. The relationship he enjoys with Scout is a life’s work and has been an extremely complicated goal.

The first step to Eagle Falconer is to be a falconer. Martin lays out the first half of process:

  • take a very difficult written test at local fish and game office
  • get equipment inspected
  • do a two year apprenticeship
  • wait five more years before you can apply for a master’s license
  • get two years experience flying eagles before you can get a permit to fly eagles, you cannot fly eagles without a permit
  • a way around that is to work as a wildlife rehabilitator who specializes in eagles
  • apprentice under a eagle falconer



That is just the first half of the process. Falconry is one the most highly regulated field sports in the world. Eagle Falconry is especially demanding and time consuming. A good hawk will will catch more rabbits than a eagle.

Scout is his friend and his hunting companion. Scout is also a Wildlife Ambassador who accompanies Martin to educational programs throughout the Southwest. Scout truly helps educate the public about eagles and so is a marvelous teacher.

Martin is often asked how the friendship developed and how it works. He says is goes back to the very first days of the falconry training. After rescuing Scout, they returned home to Utah. The start of the falconry program is a process called “manning”.

Martin first goal was to show Scout he was a nice guy. They say together in a quiet dark place. Over time, Martin soothed and comforted the eagle and kept food near him. They sat for three days and nights until Scout felt comfortable enough to eat. He was then moved to a larger chamber outside where the process continued using food as a motivator. The way to a eagle’s heart is through his stomach.

Gradually, day by day, food is given from further and further away. First inside, then outside, using a whistle and holding food out for the eagle to come from a perch. After practice moving farther and farther away, the eagle was taken out the desert and let free. The hope would be the return at the sound of the whistle and the desire for food. A terrifying time for a falconer.

Scout is wild, flies free, hunts and can leave anytime he wants. He returns because of food and kind treatment. Scout is the hunter and Martin is his dog. Since Martin is a good dog, Scout keeps him.

They have been together fifteen years and share a daily routine that maintains their relationship.

The falconry process is the basis and development of their friendship.

Falconry, to Martin, is not a hobby. It is truly a life’s skill and life’s dedication.

About Martin Tyner

At age twelve, Martin Tyner started caring for the sick, injured and orphaned creatures in his home town of Simi Valley, CA. At age nineteen, Tyner was hired as curator of birds of prey at Busch Gardens, CA. He worked in the movie and television industry training big cats, elephants, primates, sea mammals and raptors.

Martin Tyner is a federally licensed falconer, eagle falconer, wildlife rehabilitator, wildlife propagator, and wildlife and environmental educator. He has been providing wildlife and environmental programs throughout the western United States, to schools, scouts and community groups for over forty years.

Martin Tyner is the founder of the Southwest Wildlife Foundation, which is a 501(c)(3) non-profit wildlife rescue, wildlife and environmental education organization. With the help of his golden eagle, Bud, they received a donation of 22.6 acres of beautiful, canyon property from Utah Power/Scottish Power for the development of a permanent wildlife rescue facility and a nature park for the children of Utah.

Slow Down For Eagles

Slow Down For Eagles

On this Page


Download Infographic (1000×1000 .jpg)
  • Though outstanding hunters, Eagles have a very high failure rate
    Eagles are very big with a wide wing span. Bigger is not always better when it comes to hunting. A smaller lighter male eagle can often have the edge over a larger heavier female eagle. For all their skills and amazing physical prowess, it usually takes many, many unsuccessful attempts before they finally capture their prey. Their hunts take longer and exert great energy, but their larger prey provides a meal that lasts them longer as well. They do not need to eat daily.
  • Combined with shrinking habitats, they often feast on roadkill.
    It takes a lot of effort to hunt for food especially in a limited habitat among much competition and obstructions. Roadkill is a lot easier to hunt. Eagles are opportunistic predators, they will take what they can get with the least amount of energy expended.

An Eagle with Full Crop


Download Flyer (8.5×11 .pdf)
  • A large meal increases the weight of Eagle
    Just as a pilot must track and balance weight on an airplane, so do birds. Their flight is dependent on a healthy weight and incredible physical fitness. It does not take much weight to throw off their optimal weight and balance for flight.
  • Extra weight creates added difficulty to resume flight and return to cover
    A large meal can weigh down a bird considerably. Not only does the added weight from a big meal make flying harder, it also lessens their incentive for flight. Already satiated, their will and attitude to work for food drops.

Eagles Are Large

  • Please slow down as a large, heavy Eagle needs time and distance to get off the road
    If you see birds, even smaller ones in the road, it is a good idea to slow down. If there are many birds eating roadkill, it may not be possible to see an eagle among them until it is too late.
  • Unlike smaller birds, Eagles cannot dart away from vehicles.
    For those in urban areas, you may be used to just driving along with birds in front of you in the road because most smaller ones are able to get out of the way. Small birds with small wing spans can flap away quickly. A Eagle and some other larger birds cannot. While driving in wildlife areas, please keep an eye out for objects in the road and slow down in order to better evaluate the situation and act accordingly.

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Video Transcript

00:00:16.010 –> 00:00:22.820
she had a really really big dinner last
night and and because of that now I

00:00:22.820 –> 00:00:27.890
always want make this point it’s
extremely important eagles are large

00:00:27.890 –> 00:00:33.470
eagles are very heavy eagles are very
slow to get off the ground and if

00:00:33.470 –> 00:00:36.880
they’ve had a large meal like she did
sometimes they’ll eat so much food

00:00:37.820 –> 00:00:42.020
can’t even fly and that’s kind of
situation that she was in and because of

00:00:42.020 –> 00:00:49.820
that when do we see birds on the highway
or and don’t just assume they can fly

00:00:49.820 –> 00:00:54.680
away and the number one injury to Eagles
here in in Utah is Eagles being hit by

00:00:54.680 –> 00:00:58.309
cars and she was certainly in a
situation that could have been the case

00:00:58.309 –> 00:01:04.600
but fortunately she was not and so when
you see birds on the highway slow down

00:01:04.600 –> 00:01:08.299
sometimes you you have to come to a stop
and let them walk off the road because

00:01:08.299 –> 00:01:12.130
they’ve had too much dinner or too much
breakfast

00:01:22.259 –> 00:01:31.200
Got a crop full of food that’s number one
problem

00:01:31.200 –> 00:01:38.039
eating dinner and somebody won’t slow
down to let him get off the road

00:01:38.040 –> 00:01:42.220
Martin: Hi Kiddo.
Susan: huge bulging crop full of food

00:01:50.700 –> 00:01:54.140
Definitely some internal there’s a lot of blood in his mouth and that kind of stuff

00:01:54.160 –> 00:01:57.760
But I’m not feeling… okay, let’s see what we got here

00:01:58.780 –> 00:02:00.060
Feels good…

00:02:01.260 –> 00:02:04.180
Okay…that’s good…

00:02:04.180 –> 00:02:06.180
…that’s solid…

00:02:08.120 –> 00:02:10.500
I don’t feel breaks

00:02:10.840 –> 00:02:14.780
Yeah, I know, you’ve had a really bad day, haven’t you kiddo…

00:02:17.900 –> 00:02:20.900
okay

00:02:21.900 –> 00:02:24.900
yep

00:02:26.580 –> 00:02:34.980
okay I’m not feeling… oh, I know, It’s all right I get bit every day, that’s just normal…

00:02:35.200 –> 00:02:37.440
Susan: That one got smacked really hard

00:02:37.440 –> 00:02:40.600
Martin: yeah, he’s definitely got a pretty bad concussion

00:02:40.900 –> 00:02:49.180
he’s pretty unhappy but we’ll get him
put in a safe place and

00:02:49.420 –> 00:02:52.660
let’s just see if he recovers…

00:02:58.000 –> 00:03:07.700
okay just received a cardboard box it’s
at a an injured eagle it was hit like by

00:03:07.700 –> 00:03:16.310
a vehicle over on State Road 20 and the utah division of wildlife resources brought him to me

00:03:16.310 –> 00:03:20.020
so we’ll see we’ve got I have no idea what we’re dealing with here

00:03:30.420 –> 00:03:34.940
They said it’s a golden eagle we’ll find out here real quick

00:03:38.140 –> 00:03:40.200
okay, what do we got in here…

00:03:40.200 –> 00:03:42.200
yeah it’s a Golden

00:03:42.920 –> 00:03:44.920
Hey kiddo

00:03:45.620 –> 00:03:47.160
You having a bad day sweetie?

00:03:50.600 –> 00:03:53.860
You’re fighting good, that’s a great thing

00:03:57.620 –> 00:03:58.760
There we are

00:03:59.560 –> 00:04:01.700
Hey sweetheart

00:04:05.080 –> 00:04:07.960
yeah…pretty little girl…

00:04:18.040 –> 00:04:19.940
Susan: is that something that be stitched?

00:04:20.660 –> 00:04:23.980
Yeah, we’ll just let her sit for the night and see where we’re at…

00:04:23.980 –> 00:04:26.220
Often times it will heal itself up

00:04:27.340 –> 00:04:32.360
wings let’s see that we’re dealing with here…

00:04:35.280 –> 00:04:36.920
Wing feels good..

00:04:43.260 –> 00:04:48.380
yeah I know you can bite, that’s all right, I don’t care

00:04:50.760 –> 00:04:52.200
Susan: lost the tail?

00:04:52.760 –> 00:04:55.260
Martin: Tail feathers have been pulled out. Susan: oh my gosh

00:04:55.260 –> 00:04:57.520
Martin: Missing all but one tail feather

00:04:57.700 –> 00:05:01.990
they’re all gone they’ve all been ripped
out, there’s nothing there

00:05:01.990 –> 00:05:03.240
Susan: That’s doesn’t happen just getting hit.

00:05:03.240 –> 00:05:06.400
Martin: No, that doesn’t happen getting hit by a car.

00:05:06.620 –> 00:05:10.820
That happens when people
find injured eagles on the side of the road

00:05:11.160 –> 00:05:13.640
and they want to collect the
feathers.

00:05:13.980 –> 00:05:18.140
Let me tell you how this works…on the black market…

00:05:18.720 –> 00:05:24.400
tail feathers from a dead eagle
are about a hundred dollars a piece.

00:05:25.220 –> 00:05:29.460
If you could rip the feathers out of the
live eagle

00:05:30.100 –> 00:05:33.000
they can be worth as much as a thousand dollars a piece.

00:05:33.400 –> 00:05:36.100
So an eagle has 12 tail feathers

00:05:36.480 –> 00:05:40.760
and so basically this guy right here,
the person walked off with

00:05:42.160 –> 00:05:45.240
eleven thousand dollars in tail feathers and

00:05:47.380 –> 00:05:51.660
and just rip it right out of this poor
animal’s tail

00:05:51.960 –> 00:05:55.880
If you can imagine someone taking a pair of pliers and ripping our each of your fingernails

00:05:56.100 –> 00:05:59.560
that’s pretty much what they did to this poor eagle.

00:05:59.560 –> 00:06:03.340
so that’s that’s one of the problems we
have here and that’s it

00:06:03.440 –> 00:06:04.560
Nothing there

00:06:04.800 –> 00:06:08.840
All the feathers have been completely removed, haven’t been broken.

00:06:09.360 –> 00:06:12.420
So… this poor thing…

00:06:26.180 –> 00:06:28.500
Doctor: What kind of parasites do they see?

00:06:29.500 –> 00:06:33.560
Martin: Father lice extensively a lot
of feather lice especially on eagles

00:06:33.840 –> 00:06:34.960
Doctor: What do you treat with?

00:06:35.420 –> 00:06:40.140
actually the same thing you treat
parakeets with just just the cage spray

00:06:40.140 –> 00:06:43.300
Wipes them out really really welll

00:06:43.300 –> 00:06:45.300
Doctor: Tapeworm?

00:06:48.640 –> 00:06:55.200
We don’t treat for that unless we find their sick

00:06:58.760 –> 00:07:03.240
Their in the wild this is the normal diet this is the normal stuff

Golden Eagle Scout’s Project | World Class Eagle Flight Chamber

Martin has been caring for Eagles and Raptors for over 50 years! His recovery and rehabilitation efforts would be greatly improved by the construction of a large flight chamber measuring 100 by 50 feet. Such a World Class Flight Chamber would allow large birds to circle around and get the exercise they need before returning to the wild.

Additionally, an inner structure would allow for visitors to view the recovering birds in flight and provide valuable education for the public.

We welcome all who would like to Get Involved!

TV show Right This Minute helps educate

Deepest thanks to Right This Minute for sharing the story of the Five Golden Eagles rescued and released last summer. They did a wonderful job in telling the tales and spreading much needed wildlife education.

From Right This Minute:

The summer heat can be brutal for animals as well as humans. Especially for golden eagles. Martin and his wife Sue from Southwest Wildlife Foundation of Utah took in five young golden eagles this past summer who had been separated from their parents and couldn’t survive in the heat. Once they had been properly nurtured and fed, they were healthy enough to be released back into the wild.

Hosted By: Nick Written By: Will H Found By: Dennis