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Eagle's Death Highlights the Danger of Power Lines to Migratory Birds

Jason Mrachina via Flickr

One of the famous Decorah eagles, a juvenile known as Four, died as a result of electrocution last week. 

The bald eagle is starting to nest in very close proximity to people, and people have power poles. Those are bad boogeymen for bald eagles. - Bob Anderson

  “The bald eagle is starting to nest in very close proximity to people, and people have power poles, distribution poles and transmission lines close to us,” Anderson said. “Those are bad boogeymen for bald eagles.”

Iowan’s responses to Decorah’s eagles have been passionate from the beginning, and many have watched the eagles grow up.

“People are emotionally involved,” Anderson explains. “After watching bird camfor 50 hours or 500 hours, you take on a sense of ownership. Our Decorah eagles are ‘owned’ by a lot of people.”

On this Wildlife Day edition of Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe talks with wildlife biologist Jim Pease and Executive Director of the Raptor Research Project Bob Andersonabout the threat of power lines to migratory birds.

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Charity Nebbe is the host of IPR's Talk of Iowa
Dennis Reese was the mid-day host for Iowa Public Radio
Lindsey Moon served as IPR's Senior Digital Producer - Music and the Executive Producer of IPR Studio One's All Access program. Moon started as a talk show producer with Iowa Public Radio in May of 2014. She came to IPR by way of Illinois Public Media, an NPR/PBS dual licensee in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, and Wisconsin Public Radio, where she worked as a producer and a general assignment reporter.