The nation’s eagle population has made a comeback, rising from a low of 417 breeding pairs in 1963 to more than 7,000 pairs in 2005. Here in Virginia, there are more than 700 nesting eagles, but as Sandy Hausman reports, our national bird still faces serious dangers. The Wildlife Center of Virginia hopes to release two bald eagles this week – birds that were injured but have now recovered. Some eagles collide with wires or vehicles. Others are shot, but 11 percent are poisoned. Intern Kendra Jacomo recalls one young bird that died at the center this year. “After doing a necropsy we found some remnants of balloons in the stomach, we found remnants of plastic, we found remnants of lots of different things. It looked like he had attended a party and just eaten everything.” But the cause of death was ingesting part of a lead bullet according to veterinarian Dana Franzen. “They are scavenger, and if they find an animal - a deer for example during deer season - that still has bullets in it,
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