Bushed Bald Eagle Rescued at Sea [VIDEO]

A bald eagle, bush tired and floundering at sea, was rescued by a nearby fisherman in British Colombia who safely gave him a lift to shore, according to reports.

Canadian fisherman Dan Dunbar was cruising in a boat near Nanoose Bay, British Columbia when he spotted the young bald eagle floating on the surface of the water.

Aside from carrion, smaller birds and rodents, Defenders of Wildlife says, bald eagles eat primarily fish. If they can't steal their catch from another bird, they will hunt for it themselves by swooping down and grabbing fish that are near the surface of the lake or stream.

Although bald eagles are known to be quite capable swimmers, this particular bird appeared too weak to fly.

Dunbar, wanting to help the poor bird, used his net to scoop up the animal once it drifted close enough to his boat.

"There you go. Are you a little tired?" Dunbar can be heard saying in the 12-minute recording of the rescue effort.

The bald eagle, though shaken and cold, did not appear to be visibly injured. Once aboard, the bird stretched his wings to warm himself, enjoying the lift to shore. And though the bird kept a watchful eye on Dunbar, that did not stop him from partaking in some friendly conversation.

"I've got to say, you're the most unusual fishing partner I've ever had. But you're probably better at that than me though."

Once they touched on land, Wildlife Rescue picked up the bird and transported it to the Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society (OWL) to be treated.

OWL veterinarian Dina Lee told The Dodo that the bald eagle, probably around three years old, does not appear to have any injuries to his wings that would prevent him from flying. There is no doubt that the whole ordeal is rather odd, but Lee says it's possible that the young eagle was accidentally poisoned after ingesting an animal that may have come in contact with rodenticide used by farmers to keep pests at bay.

"When the fisherman fish him out onto the boat, there wasn't any fishing line tangled around him, and when he came in, there wasn't any clear break. But he wasn't eating food very well, so we're suspecting there might be something in him, so we're taking x-rays to see," said Lee. "We'll do everything that we can."

Bald eagles, according to Defenders of Wildlife, are the only eagle unique to North America. Numbers were once as low as 500 nesting pairs, down from a staggering 300,000-500,000 in the 1700s. Fortunately now there are a total of about 70,000 bald eagles in the whole of North America after populations rebounded.

[Credit: irsrugby1]