Bald eagles and lead--a bad combination

Photo courtesy of SOAR

The bald eagle that was released at Phelps Park on Satrday had low levels of lead in its blood.  Officials with SOAR ("Save Our Avian Raptors") say it's a growing problem among bald eagles.

High levels of lead in the blood can cause bald eagles to go blind.  The blood lead level of the young bald eagle was at 0.119 ppm, which indicates low level lead exposure.  The bird did have have some vision impairment.

SOAR official Kay Neumann says scavengers, like eagles and hawks, can be exposed to lead when eating from a game animal carcass or gut pile.

She urges all hunters and firearms shooters to "go lead free" for wildlife and human health.  At this time in Iowa, waterfowl hunters must use US Fish & Wildlife Service approved non-toxic/non-lead shot. Many state and county areas also require non-toxic/non-lead shot for all hunting. In many situations, however, pheasant, turkey, rabbit, and deer hunters are still allowed to use lead ammunition.

More information about lead shot and bald eagles is available at http://www.soarraptors.org/HuntLeadFree.html.  A summary of the recovery of the bald eagle released on Saturday is available at http://www.soarraptors.org/patients.html