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Injured eagle put down because of its condition

Injured bald eagle found by the road in Stafford dies

Date published: 4/13/2007

By RUSTY DENNEN

An injured bald eagle found by the roadside Wednesday in Stafford County has been euthanized.

The bird was put down yesterday afternoon after the Wildlife Center of Virginia veterinary staff met to weigh treatment options for the small but mature male.

X-rays showed the bird had a broken wing, a gaping wound along its groin and a torn ligament in a wing joint. The eagle probably would never have flown again, even if it could have been saved.

Ed Clark, president of the wildlife center in Waynesboro, said the bird was most likely hit by a vehicle while it was scavenging for a meal along the road.

"It's the reason a majority of eagle-auto collisions occur. In this case, it could have been a pretty good wallop," Clark said.

Jeff Cooper, a biologist with the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries office in Fredericksburg, rescued the bird along U.S. 17 near Hartwood Road and delivered it to the center Wednesday.

Another eagle brought to the wildlife center a few weeks ago had a detached retina, also due to a collision injury.

The Stafford bird is the 12th eagle to be brought to the center for treatment so far this year. Last year, the center treated a record 29 eagles, so this year is on pace to break that mark.

"It's a good news, bad news thing," Clark said. Bald eagles have made a strong comeback in Virginia, particularly along the lower Rappahannock and Potomac rivers. So while there are more eagles around, more are being injured in fights with other eagles over limited habitat, and with inevitable encounters with humans.

An eagle brought in from the Eastern Shore was captured after it got weak and could not fly. It had lead and pesticide poisoning.

"Again, scavenging is a real threat to these animals," Clark said.

Other cases are less sinister: "Occasionally we get last year's babies and the winter is hard on them," Clark said.

In each case, the wildlife center attempts to treat and rehabilitate eagles for return to the wild.

Some that can't be released are occasionally farmed out to zoos and other competent, licensed keepers for educational purposes.

Those that die are sent to the National Eagle Repository in Denver. Operated by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, it provides eagle parts and feathers to native Americans for cultural and religious ceremonies.

Most of the dead golden and bald eagles received by the National Eagle Repository in Colorado have been salvaged by state and federal wildlife workers. Many of the birds died as a result of electrocution, vehicle collisions, unlawful shooting and trapping, or from natural causes, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, which operates the repository. There were an estimated 7,066 breeding pairs of bald eagles in the lower 48 states last year. Approximately 124 breeding pairs were found along the Rappahannock River in a 2006 survey.

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Date published: 4/13/2007