SCIENTISTS ARE TESTING EAGLES AT CRAB ORCHARD FOR PCBs

CARBONDALE -- The blood of baby eagles at the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge will be tested for PCBs that were left at the site decades ago by manufacturing plants.

Tests on the eaglets the past two years have shown slightly elevated PCB levels, said Denise Steurer, coordinator of Crab Orchard's eaglet project.

"It's within the lower end of ranges found in tests taken in the Great Lakes area," Steurer said. "It's higher than we'd like, but not out of the ordinary."

PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, can cause cancer and other health problems for people and wildlife. The eagles could pick up the toxins by eating fish from Crab Orchard Lake.

The testing could help monitor cleanup efforts at the site, which has been designated a Superfund cleanup project.

Dozens of bald eagles spend at least part of their winters on the Crab Orchard refuge, and some pairs live there all year. The blood samples must be taken when the babies are six to eight weeks old, Steurer said.

To take the tests, one person climbs to a nest, sometimes 70 feet off the ground, and puts a hood over the eaglet's head. The eaglet is put in a sack and taken to technicians on the ground.

Technicians draw blood, give the baby a quick physical and then send it back up to the nest.

Steurer expects the study to continue for at least another year to provide several years of data available on PCB levels.

The study began after a disabled eaglet was found on the ground at the refuge several years ago. It was malnourished and couldn't fly, and preliminary blood tests showed slightly higher levels of PCBs.

"That eagle still can't fly. It just jumps," Steurer said. "We don't know what's wrong with it. Sometimes these things just happen."

Illinois reported a record population of bald eagles during a count this winter, according to the state Natural Resources Department.

The department counted 2,459 bald eagles in its annual midwinter survey, a 42 percent increase over the 1,733 counted last year. Most of those -- 79 percent -- were seen along the Mississippi River, 16 percent along the Illinois River and 5 percent elsewhere.

Overall, Illinois' bald eagle population is increasing about 17 percent per year and doubling every five years. However, it is still classified as a state endangered species.