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Two rescued bald eagles were released into the wild last Friday at Rasar State Park in Concrete following six months of rehabilitation.

Staff from Wolf Hollow Wildlife Center on San Juan Island carried two large crates onto the 167-acre park with two kicking, clamorous yearling eagles inside, who were eager to spread their wings.

Shona Aitken, handler with Wolf Hollow, said you never knew how birds or other animals would respond to being released. Often they hovered in the back of their cages, unsure what to do. Others, like these two, sprang to freedom.

The first eaglet was found by a family on Henry Island last spring sitting on the ground under a nest. The family kept their distance, noticing the eaglet’s parents were caring for another young bird in the nest above but apparently ignoring the one on the ground. They called the center, and the eagle was taken there for rehabilitation.

The second eaglet arrived at the center in early July, after residents found it caught in a barbed wire fence near Mount Vernon. By mid-August, both young raptors were strong, healthy and flying well, so they were moved to an eagle flight enclosure — a mesh structure 140 feet long — to build their muscle strength.

“We’re excited for an opportunity for the release to happen at our park, which is a habitat area for eagles,” said Rasar Park Manager Kevin Kratochvil.

“This is the time of year when the eagles arrive in the Skagit Valley to feast on the spawned-out salmon, so there’s plenty for them to eat,” he said. “And the location for the release is a good place, because it gives the young eagles a chance to gain some altitude in an open setting.”

A few hundred years ago, bald eagles may have numbered over a half a million, flourishing in areas with plentiful salmon. One researcher estimated there was one eagle nest every three miles along the Eastern Seaboard. They were found from Maine to Florida to Baja and up to Alaska.

European settlement diminish-ed food supplies and destroyed habitat.

Then the pesticide DDT, ingested by adult birds, made their eggs so thin, the chicks were unable to survive. The chemical, once used on crops, may have made adult birds infertile. It nearly wiped them out.

Bald eagles were officially declared an endangered species in 1967 in all areas of the United States south of the 40th parallel.

Since then, they have enjoyed a remarkable comeback and were taken off the Endangered Species List in 2007 by the Department of the Interior.

As the two young birds beat at the cages in an effort to get out, two humongous ravens circled the field, making knocking sounds while the sounds of the river crashed below.

Handlers opened the cages and the youngsters shot from the cages and flew up and over the park, their mottled yearly feathers camouflaged by fir, cedar and the naked trees of winter. In an instant, they were gone.

Rasar State Park opened in 1997 on land donated by Daniel Rasar, former owner of Shakey’s Pizza. During grand opening ceremonies in 1997, Vi Hilbert, a beloved Upper Skagit Tribe elder, officiated at the opening of the park at which time another eagle was released, according to Daniel Sarber, park attendant. Hilbert died at age 90 in 2008.

The park is popular for wildlife viewing — especially eagle viewing this time of year. For information about the park, visit http://www.parks.wa.gov

The Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehabilitation Center on San Juan Island serves all of San Juan and Skagit counties as well as north Whidbey Island. The center cares for approximately 500 animals each year, including a wide range of local wildlife such as songbirds, raptors, water birds, marine mammals and land mammals.

The center has a network of animal transport volunteers, who rescue or collect the injured animals and help get them to the center for care.

Anyone in Skagit County who finds an injured or orphaned wild animal should call 360-378-5000. To learn more about the center, visit http://www.wolfhollowwildlife.org.