Blue Ridge Wildlife Center to Release Rehabilitated Bald Eagle at Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve

The eagle suffered from a shoulder fracture and lead poisoning, a common killer of raptors, and will be released Saturday, March 29.

LEESBURG, VA — On Saturday, March 29, the Blue Ridge Wildlife Center will release a rehabilitated bald eagle that has been in its care for one month. The release will take place at 11 a.m. during Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve’s “Soil Saturday” event, which is open to the public.

The eagle was found by Officer Acosta of Loudoun County Animal Services after sustaining a right coracoid fracture (part of the shoulder) and suffering from lead toxicity. After a month of treatment, the fractured bone is well healed and the eagle is flying again. It has also been treated for lead toxicity and its levels have now dropped. 

Lead toxicity is a common occurrence with most raptors and is often fatal. The exposure comes primarily from wildlife eating fragments of ammunition in gut piles or dead deer that were previously shot but survived long enough to escape the hunter, or that the hunter left behind. Wildlife organizations have long advocated for hunters to use lead-free ammunition.

The Blue Ridge Wildlife Center, the only dedicated wildlife hospital in Northern Virginia, is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that cares for native wildlife by integrating veterinary medicine, rehabilitation, education, and research. The center assists more than 3,500 native wildlife annually. For more information, visit blueridgewildlifectr.org.

Media courtesy of Victoria Zarbo.

Posted on: April 1, 2025