A thrilling moment at one Loudoun County elementary school this week when two injured bald eagles were set free as the gathered students cheered.
It happened Wednesday at Sycolin Creek Elementary in Leesburg.
According to the folks at the Blue Ridge Wildlife Center in Clarke County, they were alerted earlier this week to two young bald eagles in distress at the Loudoun County landfill.
A team from the center responded and captured the two birds who were showing signs of poisoning.
A common source of poisoning for raptors like bald eagles is lead poisoning from eating animals shot with shotgun pellets. But in this case, the two eagles from the landfill had low lead levels.
BRWC veterinarian Dr. Jen Riley believes that the birds were more likely suffering pentobarbital poisoning which eagles can be exposed to when they eat the bodies of animals euthanized with pentobarbital.
This apparently happens when animal shelters dispose of euthanized animals at a landfill and the eagles are able to access them.
In this case, the two birds responded well to treatment and were subsequently released Wednesday at Sycolin Creek. A video of the double release can be seen below.
