After treatment for severe lead poisoning, a bald eagle named Billy has been successfully released back into the wild in Oak Ridge, TN. His story, like many other eagles, is a reminder that lead exposure from spent ammo in gut piles remains a preventable threat to wildlife.
#leadfree #eagles
Posts by Hunters for Eagle Conservation
Maggie, a well-known nesting bald eagle in VA, recently died from lead poisoning after ingesting lead ammo fragments. This is common but preventable. Hunters can help: switch to lead-free ammo and spread awareness! Our lead-free programs offer free/cheaper copper ammo to try. #leadfree #baldeagle
Our Maine trail cam footage: Golden eagles often rely on scavenging, making lead-free carcasses important for their survival. Lead fragments in gut piles are a major risk, but this site is safe. Our lead-free programs are growing; we encourage hunters to try copper.
#leadfree #hunting #conservation
Last May, a golden eagle long monitored just outside Yellowstone National Park died from lead exposure. Eagles often scavenge gut piles. Through WY Hunters for Eagle Conservation, eligible hunters can receive free lead-free ammo.
#leadfree #eagleconservation #hunting #wyoming
Researchers in Yellowstone National Park fitted a golden eagle with a GPS backpack to track movement/survival across WY. Data like this helps address risks like lead exposure.
buckrail.com/snapped-yellowstone-rese...
We attended the Black Hills Sportsman's Expo to launch Hunt Lead-Free SD. Eagles scavenge gut piles, and tiny lead fragments can poison them. Hunters who draw tags in select units may qualify for a free box of lead-free ammo. This is another great way hunters in SD can contribute to conservation!
New GPS research shows raptors are far more affected by human activity than we thought. Hiking pressure, development, and infrastructure are changing where they hunt, rest, and nest. Some even abandon territories. Lead-free ammo is a great way to reduce risks!
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Read that the skier was actually approaching the snow leopard to take a photo. Not the best of ideas, but still would've expected it to leave the area.
NY Hunters for Eagle Conservation attended the NY Sportsman's Expo last wkend with the North American Lead-Free Partnership and the NYDEC. We had over 1,000 hunters visit us to discuss the benefits of lead-free ammo! The Cornell raptors were *definitely* celebrities.
#hunting #eagleconservation
Seven bald eagles admitted to one Pennsylvania rehab center. Most poisoned by lead. This isn’t random. Hunters for Eagle Conservation and Conservation Science Global focus on real-world actions that keep eagles out of rehab and in the sky where they belong.
#Leadfree #Hunting #EagleConservation
Research from Cornell and NYDEC shows bald eagles face the highest lead risk among deer scavengers. This is why CSG is continuing our New York Hunters for Eagle Conservation program, supporting voluntary, hunter-led solutions.
news.cornell.edu/stories/2024...
#Leadfree #EagleConservation
Athena, a GPS-tracked golden eagle in KY, is revealing how far these birds travel and how many risks they face along the way. Migration research like this helps guide smarter conservation across the landscapes eagles depend on.
www.whas11.com/article/news...
#GoldenEagle #EagleConservation
A bald eagle found dead in the Black Hills was confirmed to have died from lead poisoning. To reduce this preventable loss, we're launching Hunt Lead-Free South Dakota, supporting hunters with practical, voluntary solutions!
www.sdpb.org/2025-12-16/t...
#LeadFree #Eagles
Copper kills cleanly and gets the job done while protecting scavenging eagles. Photo by Will Zuschlag with a hard-earned Texas white-tail, and some solid management of feral hogs to boot.
#eagleconservation #hunting #leadfree #deerhunting #hoghunting
At Avian Haven, most eagles admitted show some level of lead exposure linked to fragments from lead ammo. Sadly, Avian Haven recently lost a golden eagle to extreme lead levels, underscoring the ongoing risk. Officials in Maine are urging a shift to lead-free ammo.
#eagleconservation #hunting
We love the new US Forever stamps illustrated by David Sibley! They depict the life stages of Bald Eagles from hatchling to nestling, juvenile, subadult, and adult. It takes about 5 years for them to molt into their iconic white heads and start to claim breeding territories.
#eagleconservation
One of our tracked bald eagles, hatched in east-central IL, became our first tagged nestling in the project to breed at just 5 years old. Sadly, she was found grounded in IN last week. A necropsy will tell us more. Choosing lead-free ammo is one way hunters can help eagles!
#BaldEagle #Conservation
Good news - USFWS expanded its Voluntary Lead-Free Ammunition Program to 13 national wildlife refuges in 12 states (OR, WI, NC, NJ, MD, WV, ID, MD, NH, NY, VT, and MA), up from 7 last year. Partnered with Conservation Science Global, it helps to further protect eagles from lead poisoning.
A bald eagle in Virginia was recently found with 3,000 µg/dL of lead in its blood — it died within a day. Lead fragments from ammo in carcasses poison eagles every deer season. Hunters can help by choosing copper rounds. www.foxweather.com/earth-space/...
#LeadFreeHunting #BaldEagles #Conservation
Last weekend, NY Hunters for Eagle Conservation attended the NY State Conservation Council Meeting! We discussed our lead-free program and the North American Lead-Free Partnership led a ballistics demonstration showing superior performance by copper ammo vs lead.
#leadfree #hunting #conservation
Since 2012, we've tracked 250+ bald eagles (146 as nestlings)! One female, originally caught in OK and now grown up and nesting in KS, is now heading north. In winter, eagles feed on gut piles, risking lead poisoning from ammo. Hunters can help by switching to lead-free.
#BaldEagle #Conservation
🦆 Waterfowl hunters: bird banding needs your voice. Proposed USGS budget cuts could end the Bird Banding Lab—critical for setting seasons, bag limits, and flyway data. Hunters helped build this science. Let’s protect it. Share & speak up! #WaterfowlHeritage #SaveBirdBanding #HuntersForConservation
Juvenile bald or golden eagle? 🦅 Look for:
🟤 Feathered legs = golden
🟤 Proportionally large bill = bald
🟤 Dihedral glide = golden | Flat wings = bald
🟤 Color: goldens = clean white wing patches, white tail base, dark breast | balds = messy mottling
#Ornithology #EagleConservation
Our Wyoming lead-free ammo program is back for the 2025–26 season! 🦅 If you drew a limited quota deer, elk, or pronghorn tag in a target unit, you qualify for a free box. Watch your mailbox for a postcard + code to claim it! 💥 #LeadFree #Hunting #EagleConservation
We’re launching a brand new, voluntary lead-free ammo program in Georgia! 🦅 Deer hunters in select WMA's and counties can get a free box of lead-free ammo this season. These are eagle hotspots — let’s help protect them!
#LeadFree #Hunting #EagleConservation
🦅 Happy Independence Day! Bald eagles have symbolized the U.S. since 1782. While no longer federally endangered, they’re still threatened by lead poisoning and other human activities. Go lead-free to help protect them! Learn more facts about eagles: www.nationaleaglecenter.org/learn/faq/ #BaldEagle
Two more bald eagles are now being tracked in Missouri! 🦅 In partnership with the Missouri Department of Conservation, CSG is studying territorial eagle movement near a wind facility using satellite telemetry—vital data for conservation.
#BaldEagles #Telemetry #WildlifeResearch #Conservation
While avian flu continues to receive nationwide attention, lead poisoning in eagles remains a significant challenge that also deserves coverage. 2 of the 3 bald eagles admitted to this center in just a few weeks had toxic lead levels from scavenging carcasses from animals shot with lead bullets.
This past weekend, the Alaska Copper Ammo Challenge exhibited at the Fairbanks Outdoor Show! We introduced over 1,000 hunters to the benefits of copper ammo, from its superior performance to how lead-free ammo helps protect eagles that scavenge on gut piles.
#leadfree #hunting #eagleconservation