Been waiting a long time for this.
WVEC TV Eagle Cam
Hi, my name is Hope and I'm an eagle-holic!
The male, Dad Norfolk, is on female number three now. (He lost his mate last April.) No one is sure what happened to the first two. He had been seen with a beautiful, huge female last September through December and it's possible she flew into power lines and was killed. A dead eagle was found at the garden under power lines and no one is certain if it was her or not.
Female number two was only around for a few days and the one he's with now is under 5 years old. This would be her first breeding season. There's no quarantee of eggs this year, but we're all hoping.
All these different females inspired this video:
Showing posts with label Bald Eagles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bald Eagles. Show all posts
2.01.2012
1.10.2012
Today is Save the Eagles Day
This past year has been an eye-opener for me. Back in March I became interested in a family of Bald Eagles who make their home at the Norfolk Botanical Garden in Norfolk, Virginia. The garden (NBG), along with The Virginia Dept of Game & Inland Fisheries and WVEC TV have joined together to put a live web cam online so people have the opportunity to watch as eggs are laid and incubated. After hatching, it's wonderful to watch the eaglets grow to maturity and fledge.
As I've blogged earlier, things didn't quite work out that way this past season. But that isn't the reason I'm blogging about eagles today.
I've learned a lot while watching the cam and visiting the moderated chat and one thing I didn't know is the devastating effect lead has on wildlife, particularly Bald Eagles.
I want to start off by saying, I have absolutely nothing against hunting. Most of the men in my family hunt (I have a very large family). Their sons hunt and I'm not sure but probably some of their daughters hunt, too. My Dad was a hunter his whole life until he got to the age where he just couldn't do it anymore. But I remember being so proud because Dad always got a deer. My ex even hunted a few times...never was successful but he enjoyed the experience. As, I'm sure, do most hunters.
You may be wondering, what does hunting have to do with lead poisoning in Bald Eagles? Well, quite a bit actually. Most hunters use lead ammunition to make the kill and most lead-core rifle bullets fragment into hundreds of tiny pieces when they strike animal tissue. Bald Eagles are scavengers and will eat the gut piles left behind by hunters after the deer is dressed in the field. Also, if a wounded deer escapes a hunting attempt then later dies, Bald Eagles could feast on that carcass and ingest the lead fragments left behind in the meat. Sometimes, all it takes to kill a magnificent Bald Eagle is a lead fragment the size of a grain of rice.
One solution that anyone can do is to bury the gut piles after field dressing the deer. It's a simple task and could go a long way towards saving an Eagle from a slow, painful death. Be sure to bury it deep enough so scavengers won't be able to smell it and dig it up.
Another solution is lead-free ammunition. This one isn't quite as simple because the cost of lead-free ammo, particularly copper, is a bit higher.
Educating hunters is the best way to get this issue under control. If I had to guess, I'd guess that most hunters aren't aware of this issue. If more were made aware then maybe they would modify their actions to help prevent lead poisoning of Bald Eagles and other wildlife as well.
Death from lead poisoning is a slow, painful experience. Every year, wildlife rehabilitators across the country take in hundreds of Bald Eagles suffering from lead poisoning. Most are too sick to help but on rare occasions, some do survive.
Mr. Ed Clark, President of the Wildlife Center of Virginia has prepared a paper on the effects of lead poisoning. You can read it here.
Below are a couple excerpts from Mr. Clark's review that I feel are worth noting:
"...No responsible, ethical hunter wants to kill an eagle or any other raptors. Hunters who are not using non-toxic shot, or properly disposing of animal remains, probably don’t understand the issue. We must educate these hunters, not judge or condemn them. By keeping it positive, we will make a difference."
"...Hunters are not deliberately killing eagles with the lead in their ammunition any more than parents were deliberately poisoning their children with the lead-based paint used on baby furniture and around the home. Until people know about a problem, it is hard to blame them for not helping to solve it. Most hunters have no idea at all that their spent bullets and shot could be continuing to kill, long after the hunters have left the woods and put their guns away. There has been very little real education done on this issue."
Related Links:
This is a video about a Bald Eagle being treated for lead poisoning.
A hunter tells his story of an eagle rescue on the Mississippi River.
A young couple hiking in the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge find an eagle suffering from lead poisoning.
Please do what you can to prevent this from happening. Even if you aren't a hunter, talk to your friends who do hunt. Education can go a long way toward saving the lives of our majestic National Symbol.
As I've blogged earlier, things didn't quite work out that way this past season. But that isn't the reason I'm blogging about eagles today.
I've learned a lot while watching the cam and visiting the moderated chat and one thing I didn't know is the devastating effect lead has on wildlife, particularly Bald Eagles.
I want to start off by saying, I have absolutely nothing against hunting. Most of the men in my family hunt (I have a very large family). Their sons hunt and I'm not sure but probably some of their daughters hunt, too. My Dad was a hunter his whole life until he got to the age where he just couldn't do it anymore. But I remember being so proud because Dad always got a deer. My ex even hunted a few times...never was successful but he enjoyed the experience. As, I'm sure, do most hunters.
You may be wondering, what does hunting have to do with lead poisoning in Bald Eagles? Well, quite a bit actually. Most hunters use lead ammunition to make the kill and most lead-core rifle bullets fragment into hundreds of tiny pieces when they strike animal tissue. Bald Eagles are scavengers and will eat the gut piles left behind by hunters after the deer is dressed in the field. Also, if a wounded deer escapes a hunting attempt then later dies, Bald Eagles could feast on that carcass and ingest the lead fragments left behind in the meat. Sometimes, all it takes to kill a magnificent Bald Eagle is a lead fragment the size of a grain of rice.
One solution that anyone can do is to bury the gut piles after field dressing the deer. It's a simple task and could go a long way towards saving an Eagle from a slow, painful death. Be sure to bury it deep enough so scavengers won't be able to smell it and dig it up.
Another solution is lead-free ammunition. This one isn't quite as simple because the cost of lead-free ammo, particularly copper, is a bit higher.
Educating hunters is the best way to get this issue under control. If I had to guess, I'd guess that most hunters aren't aware of this issue. If more were made aware then maybe they would modify their actions to help prevent lead poisoning of Bald Eagles and other wildlife as well.
Death from lead poisoning is a slow, painful experience. Every year, wildlife rehabilitators across the country take in hundreds of Bald Eagles suffering from lead poisoning. Most are too sick to help but on rare occasions, some do survive.
Mr. Ed Clark, President of the Wildlife Center of Virginia has prepared a paper on the effects of lead poisoning. You can read it here.
Below are a couple excerpts from Mr. Clark's review that I feel are worth noting:
"...No responsible, ethical hunter wants to kill an eagle or any other raptors. Hunters who are not using non-toxic shot, or properly disposing of animal remains, probably don’t understand the issue. We must educate these hunters, not judge or condemn them. By keeping it positive, we will make a difference."
"...Hunters are not deliberately killing eagles with the lead in their ammunition any more than parents were deliberately poisoning their children with the lead-based paint used on baby furniture and around the home. Until people know about a problem, it is hard to blame them for not helping to solve it. Most hunters have no idea at all that their spent bullets and shot could be continuing to kill, long after the hunters have left the woods and put their guns away. There has been very little real education done on this issue."
Related Links:
This is a video about a Bald Eagle being treated for lead poisoning.
A hunter tells his story of an eagle rescue on the Mississippi River.
A young couple hiking in the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge find an eagle suffering from lead poisoning.
Please do what you can to prevent this from happening. Even if you aren't a hunter, talk to your friends who do hunt. Education can go a long way toward saving the lives of our majestic National Symbol.
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