A young bald eagle with a broken wing is flying free again in Cincinnati

A two-year-old male bald eagle found with a broken wing at Cincinnati's Lunken Airport in mid-June is back outside. WKRC Local 12 reported on October 9, 2026, that airport workers called Milford nonprofit Raptor Inc., which rehabilitates falcons, eagles, and other hunting birds. Friday's release, at a park on the city's East Side, was the second bald eagle the group has returned to the wild this year. It was the fourth eagle Raptor Inc. took in during 2026. Two of those birds did not survive their injuries.

The eagle weighed nearly eight pounds and was still about three years from a white head and tail. Rehabilitation director Shannon Frantz said he ate through fish alongside another injured eagle and was feisty in care. At the release he waited a few seconds, then flew, circled, and sat in a nearby tree for nearly half an hour before heading northeast. Frantz said she expects him to find his bearings and to live 20 to 30 years. The group does not name the birds.