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Majestic and beautiful bald eagles live around the Twin Cities metro area in greater numbers. And more of them are winding up in the hospital.

“We are their health plan,” said Julia Ponder, a veterinarian at the University of Minnesota and director of the Raptor Center on the U’s St. Paul campus.

In fact, she and her staff cared for 31 eagles at one time recently, which Ponder called an all-time high. It’s part of a long term trend, with the center treating as many as 183 eagles in 2017, a spike of nearly 50 percent from the annual patient count from just a few years before.

“It’s our new normal,” she said. “We didn’t see any consistent trends or identifying characteristics that told us why this happened so abruptly.

“It’s probably a result not only of an increasing eagle population,” Ponder explained, “but eagles are clearly becoming more adapted to living among humans.”

Another lead-poisoned bird euthanized at U's Raptor Center

Your bullets may be harming eagles

Eagles die or are injured when they collide with vehicles. They also contract lead poisoning after feasting on deer guts hunters leave in the woods.

The Raptor Center is straining to treat eagles, which often require two people to control them, and can cost $5,000 to treat. Nonsurgical cases run about $1,000.

Ponder said as of Friday afternoon, they’re down to 28 eagles because, happily, some have healed and returned to the wild.

“It’s just what we do,” Ponder said.

Correction (Nov. 14, 2019): The copy above has been updated to clarify how many eagles the Raptor Center cared for in recent years. 

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Tim Nelson

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Once wary and rare, the iconic birds of prey have become accustomed to people, and experts say that’s leading to a spike in injured birds.

A bald eagle is held by a Gabbert Raptor Center worker.

U’s Raptor Center sees record number of injured bald eagles

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