As you may have learned through
an
earlier post that an Eagle was discovered incapacitated due to unknown
reason and was resting on the ground. It was assumed that due to the lack of
any evidence indicating a struggle with another predator that the bird may have
recovered on its own and returned to flight…
unfortunately that assumption may have turned out not to be the
case.
The saga picks up again the
following late Saturday evening on April 27th when an email is received from
the same neighbor that had been responsible for the original sighting that
prior Sunday, April 21st. The
email indicated that while out walking her dog, they discovered the carcass of
an adult bald eagle deeper into the bushes approximately 25 feet from the first
encounter. It is assumed to be the same eagle
that was previously encountered.
Be warned the image of the deceased animal may be disturbing to our more sensitive visitors. The photo may be viewed by clicking on the following
LINK.
The next day on April 28th
while at the Angle Lake Fishing Derby, I shared the unfortunate news with Shore
Club President Lonnie Goulet, his brother Bruce. It wasn't until a couple hours later that Bruce’s
wife Sandy informed me that she had received a call from her neighbors John and
Sheri Kuglar indicating that they had just witnessed an Eagle fall dead to the
ground from the nesting tree above their property. Also shared in the report
was the comment that they had discovered earlier a partially consumed rat that came
to rest on the top of their car.
John placed a call into Fish and
Wildlife Service and was requested to collect the bird and store it in a freezer until their resources could come to claim it. John also informed them that a second adult
bald eagle was found and they requested the same so that a forensic
investigation could be performed to determine cause of death. After the derby I contacted my neighbor who
then showed us where the bird was resting and with the help from Lonnie and
Bruce, we bagged the bird and delivered it to the Kuglar resident for keeping
with the other bird.
The following afternoon I
received a call from Amanda Crook of Fish and Wildlife Services requesting
additional detail regarding the original sighting as reported in the blog and asking
for additional information leading up to the recovery of the second bird. Amanda verified that it may be several weeks
until the results of the autopsy were learned and confirmed that the results
would be shared with the community through the Kuglar’s.
At this point we can only
speculate what the cause was attributable to the death of these two eagles, but
with the evidence available the assumption is that accidental poisoning occurred
from consumption of a tainted rat. Once the true cause has been verified it
will be reported via the blog.
As for now, while writing this
post on Sunday morning, May 5th from my manchair, I am happy to
report that another bald eagle had twice passed by outside my window with what I
assume to be a Great Blue Heron, also witnessed in flight off in the distance. It is my hope that we humans will take particular care and restraint when using household chemicals and poisons as to have prevent any unexpected unfavorable consequences on our other natural inhabitants.
