doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Eagles and lead poisoning

Not a big fan of the eagle.

In the past I have put up and maintained a bunch of wood duck boxes. But now with eagles present I�m thinking on removing the ones I have up. The eagles have zeroed in on the boxes and are feeding on the adults and young alike.

Given the choice, I would rather have the ducks.

I've got eagles, wood duck boxes, and wood ducks. I'm sure they get a few, but I doubt very many. They sometimes circle our house spying on our own domestic ducks. So far (~7 yrs) they haven't tried for one, but that may change. Everyone has to eat.

If you look at some of the eagle nest cameras on line (Google Decorah eagles for a couple of the better ones), you can look at what they bring to the nest. Lots of squirrels, lots of fish. I saw a duck only one time (mallard). Crows. They seem to be hell on crows. Muskrats. Lots of odds and ends. As I understand it, ducks are a primary winter food, but not a primary summer food.

Here is a video of feeding from yesterday - fish was on the menu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYC0HzwIhr0

This one should take you to the 24/7 live camera
https://youtu.be/pIEUiJaMPQ4 If not, then go to https://explore.org/livecams and select Decorah eagles.

Brent, I hope your right, but in the last month My brother and I on separate occasions have seen them trying to get the adults and the little ones. Although I didn�t see them catch one I feel sure they have and the harassment has got
To effect the survival.

Before we had them a good friend of mine said his best wood duck hole was duck free since the eagles moved in.

I was use to not seeing a bald eagle. Don�t want to become that way about ducks.

Eagles have made a remarkable recovery in central and eastern Virginia over the past 25 years. I saw one yesterday afternoon when I was driving across the I-95 bridge over the James River in downtown Richmond.

I see them grabbing fish out of the river in front of my cabin on the lower James all the time. I also see them feeding on various roadkill. Wounded game would be only a very minor part of their diet. At any rate, their numbers are increasing here.

Willie, I am sure individual birds will do unique things. There is no such thing as "the average" eagle.

I watch them kill ducks during the winter on almost a daily basis where small flocks are insisting on staying in a small hole they keep ice-free all winter.

I doubt seriously that the wood duck hole phenomenon was eagles - probably not even the hunter , but why blame the eagle and not the hunter? Birds shift, habitat changes. Lots of possible explanations. Could be Great Horned Owls.

Eagle diets are undoubtedly extraordinarily well documented and described in the literature. That's the place to get an informed answer.

Your probably right Brent. I think the two on my farm have focused on wood duck boxes as I have around twenty of them up and maintained. To bad because I love watching the little ones leave the box. The eagles work around a 1200 acre areaon my farm. They have a nest but I have never seen more than two. The guy with the pond he called a woodduck hole, has around twenty working his area. I Don't doubt him for a minute.

Guess it's just bad luck.

Pfft one dead eagle from lead poisoning.

Upper Mississippi sees a lot more than that around deer season. USFWS gather them for analysis.



There has been a push for quite awhile now to ban lead bullets the Secretary of the Interior just overturned a ban on lead bullets a couple of years ago that was based on protecting Eagles. But imagine it is only a matter of time before it happens. Despite the fact that the population of Eagles has been rapidly expanding.

Have mainly baldies here, some Golden in the winter. The Golden are in the bluffs an hour or so away from the river. I live an hour from the Miss. and there are several pairs of resident baldies that fly over the house all the time.

I shoot Eagles. In the winter they will take a coot they are welcome to all they can eat as far as I care. Most of the time prefer fish if they can get it.





They would rather steal from each other than work for their own given the chance. And as someone else mentioned have seen dozens of them pick through manure in a field after it has been spread.

This field is a quarter mile from my house and this juvi was picking apart a road kill deer.



While these other 2 decided fighting each other was more important.



Given half a chance they would rather be a scavenger or thief than work for food from what I have observed.

Seems Iowa newborns, urban and rural, have similar elevated lead blood levels. Do they get it by ingesting lead shot gut piles, or do their mom's have well documented cravings while they're expecting?

Maybe, the science shows that there are environmental sources of lead. Maybe, the various fish and critters that eagles feed on have similar environmental lead exposure sources that babies do. But, I agree with you, regardless of what the science says, the important thing is to stigmatize hunters and shooters, eh?

Good thing BPCR ranges are in urban areas away from wildlife, and all have gone to lead free bullets.

Craig, you aren't making much sense. But carry on. BTW, the range here is pretty much in town.

If you have any more hysterical exaggerations and tall tales, air them all out. But I am more interested in documented, or at least well reasoned, discussions.

And for sure, if it is lead from firearms, it is important to deny it and belittle anyone that actually is interested in the truth and the facts.

Sorry about belittling you Brent, you seem to switch the victim role on and off. Isn't normal, confidence that exudes toxic masculinity? Just kidding, besides, I'm the hysterical exaggerator and tall taler.

I wasn't denying just curious, why do a high percentage of Iowa newborns have an elevated lead blood level? Metoo Brent, you have many good points to offer, but I am more interested in documentation and well reasoned discussion, when things start getting comingled with feelings. I'm glad your range is in town, it would be hypocritical to think otherwise.