Eagle died naturally, NRP says

Northern Goshawk shooting investigation continues

Michael A. Sawyers Cumberland Times-News


CUMBERLAND — A postmortem examination revealed that a bald eagle found dead along Hazen Road in mid-September died of natural causes, not from a gunshot as originally suspected.

“The case is closed,” said Sgt. Art Windemuth of the Maryland Natural Resources Police. “A necropsy performed by Dr. Kelly Malec-McConnell showed that the hole in the eagle’s breast was made after the bird was already dead.”

The dead adult bird was discovered on the afternoon of Sept. 16 in the 14000 block of Hazen Road near Evitts Creek in northern Allegany County.

The Times-News was unable to reach Malec-McConnell at the LaVale Veterinary Hospital on Wednesday to inquire about the gender, weight and age of the eagle or about what may have caused the post-death hole in the bird.

An open investigation continues in the shooting of a northern goshawk in Garrett County in June, said NRP Officer Jim Satterfield on Wednesday.

“We have exhausted all leads. There is, unfortunately, no new information,” Satterfield said. A DNR biologist discovered the bird’s remains.

That female northern goshawk, described by Maryland Department of Natural Resources officials as the only known breeding bird of its species in the state, was killed by a blast from a 12-gauge shotgun and her three chicks were left to die in Savage River State Forest near Grantsville.

There is a $1,000 reward in this case offered by the Maryland Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus and an $800 reward by the Maryland Ornithological Society.

Information about the crime may be relayed to police at 800-635-6124.

The northern goshawk is a large forest bird of prey that was driven from the state in the early 1900s by rampant timber harvesting, DNR officials said. An adult has a length of 19 inches and a wingspan of 42 inches.

Contact Michael A. Sawyers at msawyers @times-news.com

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Bald eagle killed in Western Maryland

Natural Resources Police investigating shooting of protected bird

By Candus Thomson, The Baltimore Sun

4:17 p.m. EDT, September 19, 2011
Maryland Natural Resources Police is investigating the shooting death of a bald eagle that was found Friday in Allegany County near the Pennsylvania line.

The mature eagle was found by a farm caretaker along the banks of Evitts Creek, just west of Rocky Gap State Park.

"It was probably sitting in a tree when it was shot in the chest," said NRP Sgt. Art Windemuth. "It couldn't have been mistaken for anything else. It had the white head and tail and golden beak and talons. It was the American symbol in full plumage."

A preliminary investigation indicated that it was shot with a rifle and that it had been dead less than a week, Windemuth said.

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A Regal Pose - The Republican News

Posing regally in an icy-limbed forest was this American bald eagle, photographed recently in the Friendsville area by Friendsville resident Jesse Whittemore. With Presidents' Day just around the corner, one can't help but marvel at the resiliency of not only this national symbol but also of the United States and its people. The bald eagle was on the brink of extirpation in the lower 48 states not too long ago. But after much hard work and determination by many citizens, eagle populations recovered and stabilized – so much so that in 2007, the eagle was removed from the federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife in the Lower 48 States. Americans can once again view this magnificent creature and emblem in many areas of their nation, including Garrett County.

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