Hello Birders..
Well, I took Wendy Ealding's advice and contacted the Wildlife Center of
Virginia http://www.wildlifecenter.org/index.php about the Eagle I
photographed yesterday. They forwarded my email to Dr.Dave McRuer the
Director of Veterinary Services at the Wildlife Center. He was kind enough
to respond to my email very quickly and I'm sure he wouldn't mind my sharing
it with all of you.
I think it's pretty good news..
Also if anyone visits the Bethel Beach area in the coming weeks, could you
let us know if you see the Eagle? I'll be going down off and on, with the
hope that it is around and doing OK.
Thanks!
Lynda Blair
New Kent County
Hi Lynda,
Despite the obvious eye problem, your photos are lovely. This immature
eagle is suffering from a viral infection known as avian pox. The virus
is naturally circulating in wild bird populations and typically causes
proliferative lesions on the unfeathered areas of the beak, cere, eyes,
legs and feet. The actual eyes are fine, however the growths can expand
to such a size that they prevent the lids from opening.
The fate of the bird is really in the hands of its immune system.
Typically, the growths will disappear 6 weeks after they initially start
growing as the immune system learns to recognize and destroy the virus.
The lesions actually drop off with time so the disease is self limiting.
Until then, the fate of the bird really depends on if it can see enough
to find food. We often get birds suffering from severe pox lesions and
are extremely emaciated. The fact that you can still see the eye on this
bird and that it can fly, are both good prognostic indicators.
You can find out more about avian pox on our website
(www.wildlifecenter.org) and click on Norfolk Eagle. This young bird
arrived from the Norfolk Botanical Gardens earlier this year and we've
given case updates on a fairly regular basis.
I hope this information helps.
Dave
Dave McRuer, M.Sc., DVM
Director of Veterinary Services
Wildlife Center of Virginia
dmcruer@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
phone: (540) 942-9453
fax: (540) 943-9453
