Young bald eagles live dangerously with different outcomes — a Harmar bald eagle’s leg healed recently while a young eagle was electrocuted on a power pole near McKeesport.
Although bald eagles continue to thrive in the region, young eagles throughout the state lead perilous lives. Only about 50% of them survive their first year, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
Starvation, lead poisoning and trauma are among the causes of death for youngsters, according to the commission.
The McKeesport area eagle was electrocuted last month when it landed on top of a power pole, said Douglas Bergman, commission game warden.
The eagle pair nesting in Elizabeth Township, close to McKeesport, raised two young this year, Bergman said. He believes that the bird that perched on the pole was likely from that nest given its age and proximity to the nest.
West Penn Power, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy, is investigating the incident, said Todd Meyers, a West Penn Power spokesman.
The electric company is working on a project in Mercer and in Ohio to install protective measures to prevent electrocution of osprey and eagles.
“When juvenile eagles perch on poles, their ‘wrists’ can be wide enough to touch several wires at once, completing the circuit and leading to electrocution,” Meyers said. “Wet feathers can also complete the circuit.”
Meyers urges residents to contact the power company online or call 1-800-685-0021 when there are nesting eagles and other large raptors near lines and poles.
A young Harmar eagle, known as HR13 (the 13th bird raised by the Harmar couple), had a much better outcome after several weeks of successful flying.
His left leg suddenly went limp in early August, according to Gina G. Gilmore, a Fox Chapel photographer.
“I saw him looking down at his left leg that dangled when he was perched,” Gilmore said. “My heart just crumbled and I thought, ‘Hang in there, buddy.’”
Gilmore continued to document the bird for two weeks. She also alerted the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania, which conferred with the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
While the commission tries to rescue injured birds, catching an eagle that flies and is otherwise healthy would be “extremely difficult,” said Seth Mesoras, commission spokesman for the Southwest Region.
Jim Bonner, executive director of the local Audubon Society, has caught a variety of live birds. Early in his career at the National Aviary, Bonner conducted field work for raptor research in Africa and Israel trapping birds of prey.
“The first rule is to do no harm,” Bonner said.
“If what you are going to do is going to do more harm than what you’re going to fix, you don’t want to do that,” he said.
Even if Audubon and the commission decided to trap the bird, they would need to wait until the bird became tired and weak and dropped to the ground.
Again, that is not easy, Bonner said.
“The birds’ survival technique is to not look sick and to stay up high so nothing can get to it,” he said.
Mesoras said that the young Harmar bird appeared to be eating and was otherwise healthy. “We try to see if the injury can heal on its own,” he said.
“There are bears that run around on two legs and a deer on three legs can make it on its own,” Mesoras noted.
But for birds of prey, an injury to their legs or foot can make catching food hard and in some cases, impossible, Bonner said.
On Saturday, HR 13’s leg no longer dangled and he pulled it in while flying, according to Gilmore’s photo records.
“I saw him land successfully twice,” she said. “Then both young eagles flew together and played aerial games. It was beautiful.”
Given the high death rates of young eagles and documentation of healthy young birds at the Pittsburgh Hays and Harmar nests for nearly a decade, Bonner said, “We’re beating the odds.”
Mary Ann Thomas is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Mary at 724-226-4691, mthomas@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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The dangerous life of young bald eagles: McKeesport bird electrocuted, Harmar bird injury heals - TribLIVE
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