Volunteers rescue bald eagle near Eleven Mile State Park

Colorado Parks and Wildlife is crediting a volunteer and a team of neighbors for spending three hours to rescue an injured bald eagle Sunday near Eleven Mile State Park.

CPW says a man was walking his dog in Eleven Mile Canyon and noticed the eagle sitting injured on a branch. He and a neighbor tried to rescue it, but the eagle was scared into a drainage culvert.

That’s when CPW volunteer Joe Kraudelt was called to the canyon with a fishing net and a large dog kennel.

“It was trapped under the road in a culvert that was 24-inches in diameter and 20 feet long,” Kraudelt said.

A member of the rescue team squeezed inside to chase the eagle toward Kraudelt and other rescuers at the other end of the culvert.

Photo: Denise Kelly

CPW says the eagle had a bruised wing and a claw missing from one talon.

The eagle was rescued and taken to the Wildlife and Nature Discovery Center’s Raptor Campus in Pueblo for rehabilitation. It’s expected to make a full recovery.