Despite the best efforts of Bucks County Rangers and the the Aark Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center, a bald eagle rescued from Core Creek Park in Middletown died.
The male bald eagle was located by a resident who called authorities Saturday afternoon. Rangers, who handle law enforcement for county parks, responded to the park and got to work. Rangers Tim King, George Vile and Joe Zuchero worked to rescue the visibly hurt bird. After venturing into a creek, rangers were able to scoop up the bird and Ranger Frank Arrivello transported it to Aark Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center in New Britain.
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Chief Ranger Steve Long said it was initially thought the bald eagle had a broken wing, but officials at Aark later determined the death to be from lead poisoning.
Leah Stallings, executive director of Aark, explained that it was pretty clear the bald eagle was “really sick.” He was emaciated, anemic, had a low red blood cell count, several pounds underweight and salivating profusely when he arrived at Aark.
After noticing the bald eagle had all the classic signs of poisoning, Stallings began a fluid regimen and treated the bird with charcoal. Within a day, the bald eagle was doing better and standing on its own.
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Stallings transported the bald eagle to Radnor Veterinary Hospital in Delaware County for additional treatment. Testing showed the bird had 15 to 20 pieces of metal in his gut and more in his intestines. A treatment to try to remove the lead was unsuccessful and the bald eagle passed away from cardiac arrest.
“[The rangers] handled this really well,” Stallings said. “They did everything right.”
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Birds can pick up lead through eating fish or other items. Many times, fish eat lead pieces from sinkers that are later ingested when birds eat the fish.
Stallings has some concern about whether the deceased bald eagle has a mate that is sitting on eggs. Male bald eagles gather the food for their mate while they remain constantly on the soon-to-hatch eggs.
Long said Core Creek Park does have a small population of bald eagles that nest in a restricted area of the county park. He said in the past, there have been problems with people disrupting the birds to see them fly.
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Aark is a nonprofit wildlife rehabilitation and education center. In the past year, they have aided more than 5,200 animals. Aark accepts donations and are always in need of assistance.
The Bucks County Rangers caution park-goers to stay away from injured animals and report them via phone at 215-945-3100.
