Eagle electrocuted in Narrowsburg

Final journeys to Albany and Denver, CO underway

By SANDY LONG

NARROWSBURG, NY — An immature female bald eagle, estimated to be approximately five months in age, was found electrocuted near Art Peck’s shop in the Narrowsburg Flats recently. The bird is believed to be one of two eagles that fledged from a nest in the Flats earlier this year. Her male sibling was not harmed.

According to Kathy Michell, a wildlife biologist who has worked as an eagle specialist for the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), the eaglet appears to have been the victim of a “freak accident.”

Michell said weather conditions that morning were very foggy, with a downpour of rain during the early hours that would have caused the bird to be wet and heavy. “Eagles crash into high tension wires all the time,” said Michell, who surmised that the eagle didn’t see or couldn’t easily pass between the wires where she was ultimately found. The wings of the bird touched two of those wires, leading to death by electrocution.

“She died instantly,” said Michell, who explained that immature eagles lack the master flying skills exhibited by adults.

The eagle’s body has been sent to Albany for a necropsy by the DEC’s State Wildlife Pathologist. Afterwards, she will journey to the National Eagle Repository (NER) located at Rocky Mountain Arsenal northeast of Denver, CO.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the NER’s purpose is to provide a central location for the receipt, storage, and distribution of bald and golden eagles that are found dead. Following a successful application by qualified Native Americans, the eagles are provided for use in sacred Indian ceremonies. Visit www.fws.gov/le/Natives/EagleRepository.htm to learn more.