A bald eagle survived its collision with a CSX train; then it was up to people to ensure its further survival

By LAURA L. HUTCHISON

Date published: 11/26/2005

The American bald eagle's lovingly given nickname doesn't exactly fit the image of such a majestic creature.

But it sure is accurate.

Valerie Ackerman affectionately refers to the bald eagle rescued from the grill of a CSX train Wednesday evening as "Hood Ornament."

The eagle is alive and alert at the Raptor Conservancy of Virginia in Falls Church, undergoing tests to determine the extent of its injuries and its prognosis.

"I'm just tickled that everything fell into place like it did," said Ackerman, a wildlife rehabilitator. "He's just a miracle bird."

No one is sure exactly when it happened.

But in the late afternoon on Wednesday, somewhere in the 17-mile stretch of railroad tracks between Milford and Woodford in Caroline County, a CSX train struck the bald eagle.

The conductor of the northbound train didn't realize anything had happened, but a conductor on a train traveling in the opposite direction saw the eagle trapped against the front of the train and radioed CSX dispatchers.

They notified the train's conductor and the Fredericksburg police, and the train stopped at the station downtown.

The eagle was still alive.

Ackerman, sick with the flu, was about to get into the shower at her Todds Tavern home, but heard the message a Fredericksburg police dispatcher was leaving on her answering machine.

She left immediately.

She got a message on her way to Fredericksburg that the bird had been freed from the front of the train and was at the Fredericksburg police station.

She had no idea what to expect.

"I imagined a bird that was basically broken into pieces," she said.

Stressed eagles dehydrate quickly, then go into shock, Ackerman said. After that, there's often little that can be done to save them.

On her way to Fredericksburg, Ackerman spoke to to Kaylee Charlton, another Spotsylvania rehabilitator. Charlton has a license to treat the federally protected birds.

"It was a miracle she answered the phone," Ackerman said.

If the eagle lived until Ackerman arrived in Fredericksburg, she had two options. One was to make the short drive to Charlton, who would try to rehydrate and stabilize the bird. If the eagle was in less critical condition, she might be able to get it to Kent Knowles at the Raptor Center of Virginia in Falls Church.

Knowles also answered his phone on this day before Thanksgiving, and got in touch with one of his transport drivers. She began making her way south in case the eagle was well enough to travel.

"This bird was riding on a lot of miracles here," Ackerman said. "First the engineer who reported it, the police department, me, Kaylee, and now Kent and his driver. By the time I got to Fredericksburg, I had all these options in my hand."

Date published: 11/26/2005