A missing wedge tailed eagle, Old Girl, was returned to captivity after a month of being missing, The Canberra Times reported on this day in 1981. Old Girl was noticed in Lyons by a child who telephoned the police to report the escaped bird, and the pursuit began. Senior constables Peter Donovan and Ian Miller, alongside a bird catcher for the CSIRO, rushed to the site where the bird was spotted. But they had to work harder than that - Old Girl flew over to Tarraleah Crescent and hopped down the street, only stopping to turn its head to get a glimpse of its pursuers. As the chase intensified, garbagemen offered their support, suspending collection in the area. The bird hopped to its next destination, which would also be its last, as Old Girl could not pass up the offer of chicken delicacies, and was netted.
The bird was returned to Miss Elizabeth Reymond, who had been using it for research at the ANU. But she had a surprise awaiting her. Not only did she discover that Old Girl was good at evading the police, but Old Girl was also actually a boy. "Now, I was told by South Australia that the bird was a female," said Miss Reymond. "It acted like a female. It was temperamental and exhibited other characteristics of a female eagle ... Anyway, the CSIRO man assured us that it was a male." There had been no plans made to rename the bird, but Old Boy would have been a nice and easy option.
Advertisement
