Bald Eagle in Saucon Park Died from Bird Flu

A feathered friend who many local residents long admired from afar lost her life to the avian flu that has killed millions of other birds throughout the U.S., officials with Pocono Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center announced Tuesday.

The female bald eagle had nested for years atop an old railroad signal tower in Bethlehem’s Saucon Park, just north of Hellertown. She was found unable to fly and ailing from an unknown cause on Feb. 13 and died the following day, according to LehighValleyNews.com.

Although staff from the wildlife center said the bird initially tested negative for bird flu, they confirmed in a Facebook post that a necropsy determined that it was highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) that took her life.

The preliminary “snap tests are NOT accurate,” the post said.