5 bald eagles found dead, others sick in Delaware

DAGSBORO, Del. (WPVI) -- Three bald eagles are being treated by wildlife officials after they were found sick in a field in Delaware. But at least five other eagles have died.

Now investigators are trying to figure out who or what is responsible.

The eagles are being treated at The Tri-State Bird Rescue in Newark, where they are currently in stable condition.

State fish and wildlife officials say a resident reported finding one of the dead eagles on Saturday in Dagsboro, Sussex County - about two hours south of Wilmington.

Not far away, officials say a group of eight eagles was spotted acting erratically.

Sgt. John McDerby of the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife explains, "Some of them weren't able to fly, thus seemed to be kind of stumbling and disoriented."

Five of the eagles were captured in a field. Three died on the way to the rescue.

On Sunday, two more eagles were found in Dagsboro. One was dead and the other was taken to the rescue for treatment.

Lisa Smith from the Tri-State Bird Rescue tells us, "This would be unusual. We get about fifty bald eagles a year here for treatment, but we don't normally see cases like this."

Tests have been performed on the birds and the results should be back in a few days. Until then, officials say they'll be trying to figure out what's causing the illness before it affects more birds.

Sgt. McDerby says, "If there's something environmentally out there we want to make sure we can figure out what it is, narrow it down, get it cleaned up and taken care of so we don't have additional eagles that are affected."

If you see any dead or injured bald eagles, officials say to not touch or try to capture them yourself. Instead, contact the Division of Fish and Wildlife. If you have any information about the dead eagles, call the Fish and Wildlife Natural Resources 24 hour hotline at 1-800-292-3030.