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It's easy to forget the jewels you have in your own community, but the successful release of a rehabilitated golden eagle back to the skies where he belongs is a bright reminder. The Wildlife Center of Virginia is located just off Interstate 64 at Lyndhurst. It's tucked up behind trees, a modest-looking place barely seen from the road.
But from Mother Nature's point of view — and ours — it's a refuge of magnificent proportions. From the smallest baby bird to the most majestic of falcons and eagles, from tiny rabbits to injured deer, the Wildlife Center takes them all. Veterinarians, technicians and dedicated volunteers clean, feed, care for and finally, release Mother Nature's finest back into their natural habitats.
And that's just the most-remarked-upon part of the center's mission, of course. In meantime, founder and director Ed Clark and his staff educate children and adults through open house events, field trips and visits to schools and colleges. The mission is to protect the wildlife by preventing many of the reasons birds and wild animals end up at the hospital.
On Wednesday, when the golden eagle soared from its release at Wintergreen Resort in Nelson County, the wildlife center also celebrated other of its recent patients' discharges. A peregine falcon was let go in Hampton, and a bald eagle was released near Warsaw. The trio of "graduations" marked an unprecedented day in the center's 30-year history, spokesman Randy Huwa said in a press release.
Give it time. At the rate of business going on at the center near Lyndhurst, that record will be broken sooner than later. Kudos to Clark, the staff, donors and all the volunteers to make these successess possible.
