By Rick LaFrombois
Wausau Daily Herald
Wednesday, November 26, 2003

ANTIGO - Two bald eagles and a rough-legged hawk - all federally protected species - were found injured over the weekend, and two likely were victims of illegal activity.

The rough-legged hawk was found shot Saturday in the town of Merrill. Hours before, a male bald eagle was found injured in Neillsville, the apparent victim of unintentional lead poisoning. The second bald eagle was found Sunday in the town of Scott. Its leg was injured in a trap set by a hunter, and it was suffering from hypothermia and lead poisoning.

The injuries most likely did not happen over the weekend, said Jessie Pade, director of rehabilitation with the Raptor Education Group based in Antigo. The hawk's gunshot wounds had already begun to heal, as had the wounds on the leg of the bald eagle.

Pade found pellets in both wings of the hawk and its sternum. "The wound is on the underside, so he must have been flying overhead," she said.

Intentionally shooting or harming a protected bird of prey carries a $5,000 fine and a three-year revocation of fishing, hunting and trapping privileges. Unintentionally harming a protected bird of prey - for instance, by not covering a trap baited with meat - carries a $2,000 fine and a one-year revocation of privileges.

This year has been especially busy for the Raptor Education wildlife rehabilitation center, said Marge Gibson, executive director. The center has recovered 375 sick or injured birds, including 20 eagles and 160 hawks and owls from Wisconsin and Upper Michigan.

Most birds of prey are injured when hunting for food along highway corridors, said Gary Eddy, a Department of Natural Resources conservation warden based in Antigo. He doesn't recall any being shot.

"We'll get several hawks and owls turned into the office that were hit by automobiles," he said. Those incidents have increased over the years as urban sprawl encroaches on wildlife.

If the bird survives, it's likely to end up at the Raptor Education Group rehabilitation center.

To protect waterfowl and birds of prey, hunters are no longer allowed to hunt with lead shot over bodies of water where the birds are likely to ingest the lead and die. But hunters still can use lead shot to kill small game.

Bald eagles are scavengers, so the eagle suffering from lead poisoning likely ingested lead from an animal shot by a hunter, Pade said. The eagle with the injured leg could no longer use his talons to hunt, so he, too, likely ate an animal shot by a hunter. That adult eagle had lost weight - he was down to six pounds from an average weight of 11 pounds.

The volunteer staff at the rehabilitation center hopes to release all three birds back into the wild. However, the rough-legged hawk will have to wait a year before he can return to his traditional breeding ground in the Arctic Circle.

"We're basically their Florida," Pade said. "They come down here for their winter break and usually head back in the spring when the snow starts to leave."

To help

To report a wildlife violation, call the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources at 800-847-9367. To donate time or money to the nonprofit Raptor Education Group, call 715-623-4015.