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Kansas City, Mo. – A bald eagle was injured by a tornado on March 6 near Smithville Lake and later found by a passerby and turned over to the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC). The eagle has a damaged wing and has been turned over to wildlife rehabilitation experts, said Brian Bartlett, MDC Conservation Agent based in Clay County.
As tornados touched down in the Kansas City area on March 6, one passing through the Smithville Lake area knocked down a bald eagle nest on private land. The eagle suffered a badly fractured wing during the storm. A passerby found the eagle standing near the roadside on March 9 in the vicinity of Route F and Southwest King Road. That location is south of Trimble and just north of the Smithville, on the west side of the lake. Clay County Parks and Recreation rangers picked the eagle up and turned it over to Bartlett. The eagle was taken to a licensed wildlife rehabilitation expert at Excelsior Springs. But plans call for the eagle to be transported to the University of Missouri Veterinary Health Center for rehabilitation.
Agents searched the area and discovered the eagle nest downed by the storm. The eagle had walked some distance from the nest to the road. No other adult eagles or eaglets were found near the nest site.
The Smithville Lake area usually hosts three to four active eagle nests annually, Bartlett said. Eagles feed on fish and wildlife such as waterfowl.
Bald eagles are a species of conservation concern in Missouri. They are protected by federal and state wildlife codes. For more information about eagles in Missouri, visit http://on.mo.gov/2miPJyZ.
