A recap of events: EWOT, a male eagle who was widely believed to be D18 (although we cant confirm it post-fledge) was electrocuted around 10:45 yesterday morning. Four, a female eagle who is widely believed to be D19 (similar non-confirmation statement), is still alive and in Decorah. She is spending most of her time on Mulch Mountain, a city mulch yard a little over a mile east of the hatchery. SOAR, a male eagle who is widely believed to be D20 (again, we arent confirming post-fledge ID), is at SOAR, a raptor rehabilitation facility in Dedham, IA, being treated for a broken wing. Yesterdays electrocution was extremely unusual. The line was a 69Kv distribution line that appeared, during our initial inspection, to be appropriately protected. We dont know whether EWOT tried to perch or collided with the line, although it was clearly killed by electrocution. The company that owns the line is an independent holdings company, not a local or regional power producer. We are trying to contact them this morning.
Posted on: Wed, 09 Jul 2014 13:56:37 +0000