Federal Officials Open Investigation in the Deaths of 13 Bald Eagles

Federal officials have opened up an investigation into the deaths of 13 bald eagles that were found near the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

The Maryland Natural Resources Police's spokeswoman, Candy Tomson, stated that they had received a call regarding four dead eagles from a man at around 2:30 p.m. this past Saturday. The man had been out looking for deer antlers when he came across the deceased birds near a farm in Caroline County. He initially believed that the birds were dead turkeys.

When the officials arrived at the scene, they found an additional nine dead bald eagles in a field located on Laurel Grove Road in Federalsburg. The field is just west of the 3,800-acre Idylwild Natural Area.

After the officials tagged all of the the birds and took pictures of the scene, the Maryland Natural Resources Police handed the investigation over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Thomson said.

The agency will now be in charge of determining causes of death. Officials have not suggested that the bird were intentionally killed. They also have not provided any updates on the case since Saturday.

Bald eagles, the country's national bird symbol, were taken off the Federal Endangered Species list in 2007. In Maryland, specifically, the birds were taken off of the threatened and endangered species list in 2010.

However, under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, it is still illegal to hunt the birds. Violators can received two years of jail time or a maximum fine of $250,000.