By Cindy Hoffman

Staff Writer

PHOTO COURTESY: WORCESTER COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
A bald eagle was rescued off Racetrack Road on Feb. 10. Assisting with the rescue, from left, are Worcester County Sheriff’s Office Tfc. Robert Bradley, Worcester County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Sheriff Ben Cropper, Assateague State Park Ranger Meghan Sochowski and Cpl. Eric Lenz.

(Feb. 23, 2023) A bald eagle that was found unable to fly and standing on the side of the road is recovering from undisclosed injuries at a rescue facility in Delaware, while an investigation into the cause of the bird’s flightless state continues.

Deputy Sheriff Ben Cropper of the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office, assisted with the rescue of a bald eagle that was spotted on the shoulder of Racetrack Road on Feb. 10. According to the Sheriff’s office, Assateague Island State Park took the bird into custody.

The eagle is now in the care of Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research in Newark, Delaware. This is the same facility that nursed a bald eagle back to health after it flew through a windshield on Route 113 in February 2021.

In that instance, wildlife officials knew what happened — the eagle flew into an oncoming vehicle and landed in the driver’s lap. The circumstances in the current case aren’t clear.

“We have no comment on this case because it is under investigation, and we do not want to disclose any information that may compromise the investigation,” Executive Director Lisa Smith said. “We admitted 89 bald eagles for treatment last year, and 103 in 2021, our new record. Of those 192 eagles, 100 came from Maryland.”

Bald eagles were once endangered in the lower 48 states because of habitat destruction, shooting and poisoning by the pesticide DDT, which was used to combat mosquitoes.

In 1963, there were only 417 nesting pairs of bald eagles in the lower 48 states and the species was in danger of extinction. By 1972, the Environmental Protection Agency banned the use of DDT in this country.

In 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated that the bald eagle population was about 316,700, including 71,467 breeding pairs.

According to the Maryland Bird Conservation Partnership, the Chesapeake Bay region hosts the largest concentration of bald eagles in the lower 48 states. It is estimated that 1,400 pairs currently breed in Maryland.

“There are so many on the Eastern Shore… crazy and wonderful,” Smith said.

The bald eagle continues to be protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. Both laws prohibit killing, selling or otherwise harming eagles, their nests or eggs.

Anyone with information on this case should contact Maryland DNR. Call or text 443-433-4112, or email mwc.dnr@maryland.gov.