Bald eagle dies of lead toxicosis; photographer documenting its life for years now spreading consciousness

CRAIG COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) – A bald eagle, affectionately referred to as “Maggie,” died final week after almost 10 years as the topic of a Giles County wildlife photographer who had chronicled her life.

Now, that photographer is spreading consciousness about lead toxicosis in hopes it doesn’t occur to some other animals.

Dicy Howell, who lives in Giles County, made weekly journeys via the mountains to {photograph} bald eagles. For almost a decade, she captured photos of Maggie and her mate.

“I think they’ve just gotten used to me being here. I’m just a constant in their world, too,” stated Howell.

She bought to know Maggie nicely via her lens. But final week, she observed Maggie had a “greenish tint” in her eye, and appeared unhealthy.

“When I came last Saturday morning, she was on the ground below the nest and she was acting strangely,” Howell stated. “So that just indicated to me that there was a problem.”

After consulting with the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center, and with some assist from native animal management, Howell transported Maggie to Roanoke.

“Never in my wildest dreams would I’ve ever imagined being that close,” Howell stated. “But we took her and it was, it was sad. It was heartbreaking because I knew, I knew that, I already knew deep down it was lead toxicity.”

Katherine McGrath, Director of Operations on the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center, stated she may instantly inform one thing was improper. Testing confirmed Maggie had lead toxicosis levels that were off the charts.

“I’m honestly going to say when we had her set up and treated and ready for the night, I was giving her about a 50-50 chance to maybe make it through,” stated McGrath. “We were really hopeful, we gave her all the care we need. So I was surprised to hear from my co-workers that yes, she made it through the night to the morning.”

Maggie died the following afternoon.

“Devastating. It was devastating,” Howell stated. “It’s almost like losing your family pet.”

McGrath stated lead toxicity is frequent in wild animals. It typically begins with lead bullets and lures, with the steel leaching into animal carcasses or into the water.

McGrath stated the issue could be diminished with larger consciousness.

“Clean up your fishing line, please,” McGrath stated. “If you lose any lures, either switch your type of sinker to a non-lead alternative. If you are a hunter, we do encourage that you move to complete copper bullets. So those complete copper bullets, when they hit meat, they don’t shatter out like lead does. It’s not as fragile. And so you’re not picking out pieces of lead out of meat yourself, and then you’re not leaving that lead for animals to possibly eat.”

Howell stated she hopes individuals will take motion.

“We need to be stewards of our environment,” Howell stated. “This is our bald eagle. This is the emblem of our nation. They represent freedom and strength. And the eagle’s going to go back on the brink of extinction if we can’t come to some sort of conclusion as to how we can prevent this type of thing from happening. There’s ways to, you know, help. Even if one person does that, it makes a difference.”

Maggie’s eggs are nonetheless in her nest. But Howell hopes Maggie’s legacy goes past simply her offspring and helps save all wildlife in our hometowns.

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