Thirteen bald eagles were found dead over the weekend near a farm on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
Officials with the Maryland Natural Resources Police said they received a call about 2:30 p.m. Saturday from a man who said he was out looking for antlers that deer might have shed and came across what he initially thought was a dead turkey in a field on a farm in Caroline County. But he discovered it was actually four dead bald eagles.
When officers arrived, they found nine additional dead bald eagles in the field on Laurel Grove Road in Federalsburg, Md.
It was not immediately clear what had caused the birds to die.
Candy Thomson, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Natural Resources Police, said the birds were tagged and the scene was photographed. She said the incident is being turned over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which will serve as the lead agency for the investigation. That department said it is investigating but gave no further details.
