This eagle couldn’t eat or fly after it became weighed down by a heavy ice ball attached to its tail on the shores of frigid Lake Michigan. Luckily some birdwatchers found it in peril and called a team of rescuers to the scene.

Volunteers from Wings of Wonder tried to corral the raptor toward shore—by wading into the Great Lake themselves amongst large floating ice blocks.

Chris Johnson was on shore while Ken Scott captured this video at the same time that his insulated chest waders were leaking, as he tried to maintain his footing.

“Chris was right where he needed to be and had the presence of mind to intercept the guy who seemingly was looking for an assist at the same time we were offering one,” reported Scott on his YouTube channel, Ken Scott Photography.

Capturing the bird in a blanket, they transported him to the rescue center in Leelanau County for a series of “forced defrostation” experiments. Warm tap water was finally able to remove the “ice beast”, and several days later, on February 10, the eagle, unhurt was ready to be released into the wild once again.

(WATCH the video below…)