A bald eagle chick inside a nest in Rutland, Massachusetts. Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife
A bald eagle nest with eggs has been discovered in Cape Cod for the first time in 115 years, according to the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (Mass Wildlife), as Newsweek reported.
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<p>That nest is part of a dramatic uptick in the number of active nests, with more than 70 spotted this spring, according to a post on the Mass Wildlife website, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/28/us/bald-eagles-massachusetts-scn-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported. While spotting active nests is not rare, one with eggs is. Also, for the first time, there is a documented case of eagles nesting on nearby Martha's Vineyard.</p><p>The 1905 nest with eggs was in the town of Sandwich.</p><p>On its website, Mass Wildlife said the population of bald eagles is soaring this season. The birds are currently in the middle of their nesting season, according to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bald-eagle-nest-eggs-spotted-on-cape-cod-for-the-first-time-in-115-years/" target="_blank">CBS News</a>.</p>
<p>The return of bald eagles is a testament to the strength of the Endangered Species Act, since the birds have recovered from the brink of extinction. Bald eagles recently improved from threatened to special concern on the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act list thanks to successful <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a> measures. Mass Wildlife embarked on an eagle reintroduction program in the 1980s that has led to an uptick in the population of bald eagles in the New England area, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/28/us/bald-eagles-massachusetts-scn-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported.</p><p>A bald eagle that hatched in Massachusetts holds the record for the oldest bald eagle in New Hampshire. The eagle, which was photographed in New Hampshire this spring, was identified by banding records as a 23-year-old male that hatched in Ware, Massachusetts, in 1997, according to <a href="https://www.wcvb.com/article/bald-eagle-nest-with-eggs-spotted-on-cape-cod-massachusetts-for-first-time-in-105-years-officials-say/32692454" target="_blank">WCVB</a>, Boston's ABC News affiliate.</p>
<p>While bald eagles are no longer on the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species" target="_self">endangered species</a> list, they are still <a href="https://www.fws.gov/midwest/eagle/history/protections.html" target="_blank">protected under multiple federal laws</a>, including the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.</p><p>However, their new found strength could spell trouble for other birds.</p><p>In one example, Mass Wildlife said, "[a]n eagle pair took over an osprey nest and were incubating eggs when the ospreys returned from their wintering grounds. The osprey pair that most likely built the nest harassed the incubating eagle who would flip upside down with its talons in the air in defense. Eventually the eagle cracked the eggs doing this, and this historic nesting attempt failed."</p>
<p>In another example, "[t]wo other eagle nests on the mainland have also failed as a result of an intruding eagle invading the territory and killing the chicks in the nest."</p><p>"Although difficult for observers to witness, these events are all signs of a thriving eagle population in Massachusetts," MassWildlife said, as <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bald-eagle-nest-eggs-spotted-on-cape-cod-for-the-first-time-in-115-years/" target="_blank">CBS News</a> reported. "On the upside, more and more people across the Commonwealth are experiencing the thrill of seeing eagles in their own neighborhoods as these birds continue to expand their range to urban and suburban landscapes."</p><p>Bald eagles build the largest nests of any bird in North America. Mating pairs build their nests in winter months and then return to them every year to add to the nest.</p><p>The species holds the record for the largest nest ever recorded, with a nest spotted near St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1963 that measured nine feet, six inches wide and 20 feet deep, and was estimated to weigh more than 4,400 pounds, according to <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/bald-eagle-nest-cape-cod-first-time-century-1507010" target="_blank">Newsweek</a>.</p>
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America's national bird is threatened by hunters. Not that hunters are taking aim at the iconic bald eagle, but bald eagles are dying after eating lead bullets, as CNN reported.
<p>The <a href="http://www.capefearraptorcenter.org/" target="_blank">Cape Fear Raptor Center</a>, North Carolina's largest eagle rehab facility, has recently treated seven eagles for lead poisoning, executive director Dr. Joni Shimp told CNN. The center also said that 80 percent of the eagles it has had to euthanize since November were because of lead poisoning. </p>
<p>Similarly, officials from the <a href="https://www.hiwr.us/" target="_blank">Hatteras Island Wildlife Rehabilitation</a> in North Carolina said that 70 to 80 percent of the eagles they treat have high levels of lead in their system, and the effects are devastating, <a href="https://www.wtkr.com/news/experts-say-hunters-are-killing-eagles" target="_blank">according to WTKR</a> in North Carolina and coastal Virginia.</p>
<p>"The bird is lethargic, it's limp, it may have vision problems, staggering, legs not working correctly," explained Lou Browning of <a href="https://www.hiwr.us/" target="_blank">Hatteras Island Wildlife Rehabilitation</a> to <a href="https://www.wtkr.com/news/experts-say-hunters-are-killing-eagles" target="_blank">WTKR</a>.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/16/us/bald-eagles-dying-lead-poisoning-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> explained, hunters use lead bullets to kill deer and other animals. When the eagles feast upon the dead animals, they are indirectly exposed to toxic levels of lead. </p>
<p>"Hunters in no way, shape or form intentionally try to kill an eagle, vulture or any other species," Shimp said to CNN. "If the deer isn't killed immediately and runs and the hunter can't find the deer, the eagles and vultures find it and ingest the lead."</p>
<p>Shimp also explained some of the neurological problems that result from lead exposure to eagles. She told CNN that the eagles will show a "lack of judgment when flying across roadways, the inability to take flight quickly resulting in being hit by cars, seizures and death."</p>
<p>The bullets hunters use often scatter into tiny fragments that travel through an animal's body. </p>
<p>"It's often said a piece of lead the size of a grain of rice is enough to take down an eagle," Doug Hitchcox, a naturalist from Maine Audubon, said. Maine had five cases of eagles dying from lead poisoning in January alone, <a href="https://www.necn.com/news/local/maine-wildlife-advocates-look-to-curb-lead-poisoning-in-bald-eagles/2224560/" target="_blank">according to NECN</a> in New England. </p>
<p>Hunters and bird advocates agree that changes in ammunition would go a long way to solving the problem. That small change makes a big impact for eagles. "The most direct thing would be to switch to copper bullets instead of lead," Browning said to <a href="https://www.wtkr.com/news/experts-say-hunters-are-killing-eagles" target="_blank">WTKR</a>.</p>
<p>Similarly, David Trahan, the executive director of the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine said that education and outreach are essential to prevent the problem, <a href="https://www.necn.com/news/local/maine-wildlife-advocates-look-to-curb-lead-poisoning-in-bald-eagles/2224560/" target="_blank">according to to NECN</a>. He also advocates using copper bullets, especially for big animals like moose where pieces of meat are often left behind.</p>
<p>"If you're going to kill an animal and leave it in the woods like that, let's use a copper bullet," Trahan said to <a href="https://www.necn.com/news/local/maine-wildlife-advocates-look-to-curb-lead-poisoning-in-bald-eagles/2224560/" target="_blank">NECN</a>. He added, "I know of no hunter who wants to hunt an animal and knowingly kill a bald eagle."</p>
<p>Trahan also felt that outreach could protect people as well, since lead is toxic to us as well. </p>
<p>"If I give meat to kids, to family, I want to make sure I'm not providing something to them that could be harmful," he explained to <a href="https://www.necn.com/news/local/maine-wildlife-advocates-look-to-curb-lead-poisoning-in-bald-eagles/2224560/" target="_blank">NECN</a>, suggesting that lead bullets be used in training and at gun ranges, where it won't come into contact with wildlife.</p>
<p>According to the American Bird Conservancy, millions of birds every year die from lead poisoning, as CNN reported.</p>
<p>"It's an overall US problem. The lead poisoning increases during deer season but we see it all year," Shimp said to CNN. "Some times it's chronic low-grade exposure over time that also brings them down."</p>
<p>She too suggests that large stores should sell copper bullets. </p>
<p>"We need to target the big chain stores and get them to carry copper bullets," Shimp said to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/16/us/bald-eagles-dying-lead-poisoning-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a>. "Then I can set up education days at these stores, with a vulture, red tail (hawk) or eagle and show the hunters and point them to the copper ammo. Then we can start to win this war ... the war on lead, not on hunters."</p>
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