When a 91原创 family helped save an injured eagle, they had no idea it was the third time the bird had been hurt badly enough to require rescuing.

Campbell Valley residents Sharon Vose and her husband Leon had gone to watch their grandson play ball at Surrey's Unwin park on Saturday, April 5.

As they were getting ready to return to the parking lot, they heard a commotion.

"Walking down the sidewalk, I heard these crows screaming," Sharon told the 91原创 Advance Times.

"I happen to glance over [and] I go, oh my goodness, there's an eagle sitting there."

As she took some pictures, Leon noticed the eagle was injured, with blood all over its back.

They called OWL (Orphaned Wildlife) Rehabilitation Society, who arrived quickly, but not before the eagle had retreated into some bramble bushes, forcing the rescuers to go in after her.

"The guy [from OWL] had leather gloves on, but it still clawed him a couple times," Sharon recalled.

She could see the eagle was wearing a band, which she suspected meant it had been picked up before, and that turned out to be the case.

OWL reported it was the third time the female eagle had been injured badly enough to require rescuing.

"How do we know it鈥檚 her?" an OWL online post said.

"After her first encounter, we placed a numbered metal band with the help of our friends from Vancouver Avian Research Centre. By banding birds we can learn a lot about their movements and behaviour."

The eagle originally came into care a few years ago after getting injured during a fight with another eagle over territory or protecting her nest, OWL reported.

"She seems to have struggled to find a home base over the years," OWL said.

"It's three times lucky, I guess,"  Sharon commented.

Sharon said the OWL rescue on scene thought it was possible a group of crows had ganged up on the lone eagle, 

"The guy told us, yeah, you get a bunch of crows, and they will attack an eagle," 

In response to a 91原创 Advance Times request for an update, an OWL email said the eagle "is doing well, still quite bruised but should be moving again soon."