Federal Officials Investigating Deaths Of 13 Bald Eagles

FEDERALSBURG, Md. (AP) -- Natural Resources Police had never seen anything like it: 13 bald eagles all dead in a farm field on the Eastern Shore.

Alex DeMetrick reports what killed the eagles is now a state and federal investigation.

The symbol of America is now at the heart of a mystery. Saturday, a man walking in an Eastern Shore farm field in Caroline County near Federalsburg found for dead bald eagles. He called Natural Resources Police to the scene.

Those officers...

"...found another nine for a total of 13. That would be the single largest die-off in more than 30 years," said Candace Thomson, NRP spokesperson.

What killed them is unknown.

"They were fairly recently dead. There was no sign of trauma; no sign of gunshot," Thomson said.

But gunshots sometimes take X-rays to see. One eagle had two shotgun pellets. It was originally found struggling in a marina with no sign it had been shot.

"I can't let him drown; I gotta get him out," a man said.

The field the 13 eagles were found in is a part of the state with poultry operations. To control rodents, poison bait may have been used. Eagles are scavengers and may have eaten dead rodents.

"And that attracts them and that may be one of the problems here," Thomson said.

Eagles are federally protected. Killing them brings a hefty fine and jail time. So many killed at once also brings another toll.

"It was really devastating to our officers. They're in the business of protecting wildlife and to see 13 dead eagles in a field was pretty hard to take," Thomson said.

US Fish & Wildlife is in charge of the federal investigation. Anyone with any information is urged to contact them or Natural Resources Police. A $10,000 reward is being offered.