It’s been 15 years since Rita, the Marathon Wild Bird Center’s resident bald eagle, was found in a nest that crashed to the ground in Everglades National Park in 2011. Originally given a second chance at flight, the eagle later had a nest of her own in Miami fall to the ground, and in November 2022, she was found away from her nest with a critically fractured right wing. With parts of her wing amputated by Dr. Don Harris and again by Dr. Doug Mader, Rita has made herself at home at the Wild Bird Center under the watchful care of founder Kelly Grinter since 2024. There’s no birthday cake for an apex predator like Rita, but Grinter said the eagle still gets her own high-class treats. ‘She gets filet mignon,’ Grinter said. ‘She has a sponsor in New York who sends a Butcher Box to my house.’ Photo by ALEX RICKERT/Keys Weekly
