By John Weiss, former outdoor newspaper editor here. Great guy, we've chatted a lot.
I was looking for deer in Houston County last week when I got a call about an injured bald eagle.
The DNR wanted my help in transporting it to the Raptor Center on the University of Minnesota campus. The plan was for me to meet Tyler Ramaker, the new Department of Natural Resources conservation officer for the area, in Houston. I was to take the bird to Rochester, where another DNR official would take it to a friend near Northfield who would take it to the center.
Oddly, earlier in the day a bald eagle had flown nearly parallel to my car as I drove along a Fillmore County road. I had admired its head and talons. But as I drove to make the pick-up, I was worried. My first thought was that bird had lead poisoning.
It was a logical supposition.
According to the Raptor Center, there is an influx of lead-poisoned eagles beginning in mid-November and continuing through winter. The hypothesis is that wounded, unrecovered deer and gut piles left in the field by hunters could be the source of lead; eagles are known to scavenge heavily on deer remains.
Jamie Clarke, a certified veterinary technician at the center, said eagles only need to ingest a few lead fragments the size of a pencil point to weaken them to the point that they can’t fly or eat. The lead also causes other fatal complications. Clarke said that most lead-poisoned birds taken to the center die.
When I met Ramaker, he handed me a tote with the eagle in it. One look told me the bird was in deep trouble. It had greenish crud coming from its beak and greenish stuff on its white head feathers; its head lolled like it was drugged.
When I drove to Rochester, the eagle made weak noises, more like a chirping of a sparrow or warbler than the powerful shrieks of an eagle.
Then it was silent.
Near Rochester, it made more noise. I passed the eagle off in Rochester and hoped for the best. I later emailed the center to find out its fate.
The reply: “We are very sad to tell you that this adult female bald eagle could not be saved, as its degree of lead toxicity was too severe. The eagle was displaying classic neurological symptoms which were consistent with the high blood levels. The blood lead levels were 8 times higher than the treatable limit. At these very high lead levels, there is permanent cardiac and nervous system damage. In cases like these, the kindest act to prevent future suffering is humane euthanasia.”
This sad outcome has further solidified my decision to switch to copper slugs in 2011, and it made me decide to look for more ways to phase out lead.
I’ve had no problems killing deer with copper slugs. Yes, copper costs a bit more, but I don’t shoot all that many times.
I’m now going to shoot steel when hunting pheasants and rabbits, and I’m investigating shooting non-toxic shot for turkeys. The cost isn’t that much more, especially compared to high-end lead loads, and I’ll leave a bit less lead on the ground. It’s a small thing, but small things can add up.
I know eagles have made a huge comeback after DDT nearly wiped them out decades ago, so it’s not that there’s a shortage of eagles. But to me, another dead eagle is dead wrong --especially if I can do something about it.