Watch NYPD Officers Rescue Injured Bald Eagle Stuck on Ice Floe

Recently released body camera footage captured the NYPD harbor unit rescuing an injured and bleeding bald eagle on a patch of ice in the Hudson River.
Feb. 19, 2026

What to know

  • The NYPD Harbor Unit rescued an injured American bald eagle stranded on an ice floe in the Hudson River near the George Washington Bridge.

  • Officers used a catch pole and blanket to safely secure the bird, which appeared to have a bleeding claw and a wound near its eye.

  • The eagle was transported to a New Jersey animal sanctuary for evaluation and treatment, authorities said.

By Colin Mixson

Source New York Daily News


An injured American bald eagle stranded on an ice floe in the waters of the Hudson River off Manhattan was rescued by NYPD harbor police on Tuesday.

Video the Police Department posted to social media shows the injured raptor emit a piercing screech as it stands on the ice just north of the George Washington Bridge around 9:30 a.m.

“His claw’s bleeding,” a member of the NYPD Harbor Unit can be heard saying in the video.

One officer slips a catch pole over the bird, restraining it as another officer wraps a blanket around the eagle, lifting it off the ice and onto the boat, the video shows.

An image taken of the bird as it waits in a travel crate following the rescue appears to show a wound over its right eye.

The eagle was taken to an animal sanctuary in New Jersey for treatment, according to Pix 11.

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©2026 New York Daily News.

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