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First Posted: 9/13/2014 DALLAS &#8212; More than 50 people packed into Wild Birds Unlimited in the Dallas Shopping Center on Saturday to see something they had never seen before.
&#8220;Show of hands, how many people are here because their plans were rained out?&#8221; Franklin Klock, a program assistant from the Carbon County Environmental Education Center, asked the crowd.
No hands were raised.
&#8220;How many of you are here because you love eagles?&#8221;
Hands shot up, kicking off Klock&#8217;s presentation.
Klock began by talking a little bit about the nature center, located just outside of Jim Thorpe on the grounds of Mauch Chunk Lake Park. The grounds support diverse habitats and are home to an array of wildlife, from foxes to bears and chipmunks to coyotes.
And eagles, most notably a golden eagle named Miss Charles and a bald eagle named Renny, both of which Klock presented to the crowd. Both are 14 years old and were taken into close care at the nature center after they were discovered in critical conditions.
Klock spoke about the survival of the bald eagle, the national bird of the United States, which up until recently was uncertain.
&#8220;In 1962, there were only two nesting bald eagles in the entire state of Pennsylvania,&#8221; Klock said.
Klock attributes this to the widespread use of DDT by farmers.
&#8220;As farms grew, DDT became more commonly used to kill bugs on crops,&#8221; Klock said. &#8220;What people didn&#8217;t know was that when DDT was washed off, it would get into the ground water, which feeds lakes. Fish in the lakes would consume DDT, and eagles consume fish.&#8221;
DDT would then settle on eagle eggs, making the shells brittle and easily breakable.
But times are better now. Klock estimates there are now active bald eagle nests in 56 of the 67 counties in Pennsylvania.
Klock also helped the audience distinguish between a young bald eagle and the golden eagle, which share many of the same features. The confusion is due to the fact that until a bald eagle matures into an adult, it does not have the distinctive white feathers on its crown or its wings.
The crowd gasped in awe when Klock brought out Miss Charles, the golden eagle with a wingspan of roughly seven feet. Her three-inch talons, built for devastating penetration and able to squeeze unlucky prey with a thousand pounds of pressure, latched onto Klock&#8217;s protective arm sleeve, constructed with four layers of tough leather.
&#8220;They deserve respect. These birds can hurt you,&#8221; Klock said to the audience.
When Miss Charles was found by the center, she had been shot through her right wing by someone with a high-powered rifle. After three surgeries, the wing healed but two bones had fused together, leaving her with limited flyability.
Before bringing out Renny, Klock dispelled some myths for the audience. Referencing a YouTube video which features a small child being snatched away by an eagle, he explained that in actuality, eagles can comfortably carry only a third of their body weight.
He also addressed the myth that cheetahs, which are known to run up to 80 mph, are the fastest animal on the planet.
&#8220;How fast can an eagle dive for prey? Well, the peregrine falcon can dive up to 250 miles per hour,&#8221; Klock said.
He added that adult bald eagles &#8212; like Renny, who received similar gasps from the audience as Klock brought her out &#8212; have clocked at over 200 mph.
When Renny was found by the center, she had been hit by a car while eating roadkill.
&#8220;This suggested that she wasn&#8217;t as good of a hunter or flyer. She might have been the runt of the litter and not meant to make it,&#8221; Klock said.
At that point, Renny wildly flapped her wings.
&#8220;Uh-oh, I think I offended her.&#8221;
In addition to her physical shortcomings, the accident left her without a talon and blind in her left eye, as is evident in the murky discoloration that contrasts heavily with the vivid, golden yellow iris in her right eye.
Joann Kostrobala, co-owner of the Wild Birds Unlimited shop, also spoke of the pleasures of having the opportunity to bring wildlife experts to the shop.
&#8220;We have events like this five or six times a year, the whole educational process is wonderful,&#8221; Kostrobala, of Dallas, said. &#8220;The people who came here today all love nature, it&#8217;s nice to have this kind of gathering.&#8221;

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