12/16/2025
This adult Bald Eagle was found down unable to fly. Our friends at Loudoun Valley Raptor Center, Inc. rescued this bird and transported to us for evaluation.
On exam, our staff found that the right wing tip was extremely edematous (swollen due to build up of fluid in the area) and cold to the touch. Given the swelling, palpation of the bones was nearly impossible and radiographs were taken. The images showed a luxation of the metacarpophalangeal joint (where the "finger" meets the "hand bones").
In addition to this, the right eye was questionably visual due to a lens luxation and this bird's lead level was 47.2 micrograms/deciliter. This eagle had clearly been dealing with these issues for some time due to their thin body condition on intake.
Given the exam finding on intake, prognosis was extremely guarded for recovery. Our team elected to give this eagle a few days of treatment to see if blood flow would return to the edematous wing tip or if that tissue was truly not viable and could not heal. Despite two days of intensive treatment, this eagle passed away in care after about 48 hours, likely due to organ failure caused by the lead poisoning.
We're thankful for the many people who helped get this eagle to us, rather than letting them slowly and painfully die in the recently snowy weather and freezing temperatures.
Lead poisoning is extremely common in our bald eagles (over 90% of adults come to us with elevated levels) and other scavenging species. Help prevent deaths like this by choosing non-lead ammunition when hunting and non-lead sinkers when fishing.
