Subject: Re: Lead shot
Date: Jul 18 22:04:57 1995
From: Tom Foote - footet at elwha.evergreen.edu



On Tue, 18 Jul 1995, Don Baccus wrote:

(snip..snip..)

>
> This actually reminds me of a real-life mystery. The eagles on the
> lower Columbia still lay eggs which have very fragile, thin shells.

Don,
Are they fledging any young?

> ... a mechanism which explained how the contaminants were
> getting from the sediment into the eagles...
> > Don't know if they've figured out the chain of events,

Interestingly enough, Joe Stewart, USFS Toxicologist was the guest
on *Bird Talk* June 21, and he said there's a similar problem on
Hood Canal with Bald Eagle nests that are, for some reason
not currently understood, not fledging any young..it has them mystified,
as up on the Skagit and down around Chehalis area the eagles seem
to be making an impressive comeback..they've examined the chain
but to no avail...it seems to point to the food supply, but they
can't pin-point it...Joe says there is even some speculation that
dead seals, with their enormous fat reserves, may be part of the
reason as they are scavenged by the eagles..


Tom