Stan,
Bald eagles are well known to have different digestive physiology than just about any other avian predator. They have unusually high acid content in the digestive tract, the theory is it developed in response to the eagles penchant for eating carion, when available, as a way to protect the birds gut while consuming spoiled meat. Owls seem to be almost impervious to lead poisoning, by way of comparison.
It makes Bald Eagles more sensitive to lead in the environment.
THAT SAID, nobody has been able to demonstrate that using lead ammunition has hurt eagle populations in the last 50 years.
I'm all for good science, and not knee jerk regulation.
Best,
Ted
