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CONTENTS:

Watering Camden Yards
Thorton Creek Watershed
Stormwater Management
The Cactus Playa
Living Unleaded
Wildlife & Lead Poisoning

Classroom Activities:
• Irrigation Inquiries
• Watershed Modeling
• Stormwater Analysis
• Exploring Wetland Wonders
• Locating Sources of Lead

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The Truth about H2O focuses on the need to protect the nation's water resources. By demonstrating how the hydrological cycle works, the program shows how water not only sustains life but is critical to the quality of life.





Even the bald eagle is subject to lead poisoning from consuming dead or dying waterfowl.
Even the bald eagle is subject to lead poisoning from consuming dead or dying waterfowl.





On average, about a half-pound of lead shot ends up in the environment for every bird bagged.

On average, about a half-pound of lead shot ends up in the environment for every bird bagged.

 

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Teaching Guide

This teaching guide is designed to complement the 20-minute video, The Truth About H2O.  Click here to request the video.  Please note that video supplies are limited and may no longer be available.

Lead Poisoning in Waterfowl

People aren’t the only ones affected by lead in our environment. Lead poisoning kills an estimated 1.5 to 3 million waterfowl each year (2 to 3 percent of the nation’s annual waterfowl population). Yet, many waterfowl hunters have never seen a lead-poisoned bird. Lead poisoning is often called "the invisible disease" because it so often occurs without being noticed.

Lead poisoning also could be called the "controversial disease." Because of it, hunters in many parts of the country have been required to give up traditional lead shotgun ammunition and use nontoxic steel loads instead. Many waterfowlers have objected to the nontoxic shot requirements. The controversy grew more intense when scientists reported that bald eagles as well as waterfowl die from lead poisoning. In addition to being fish-eaters, bald eagles also take advantage of other sources of food, including crippled and dead waterfowl. Our national bird can get lead poisoning from swallowing lead shot present in the bodies of waterfowl it eats.

How Waterfowl Get Lead Poisoning
There is no scientific evidence that waterfowl get lead poisoning from breathing lead-containing air or from eating plants that have absorbed lead from the environment. Although lead in gasoline – the major source of lead entering our atmosphere – decreased by more than 50 percent from 1976 to 1980, there has been no corresponding decrease in lead poisoning in waterfowl. Birds do sometimes get lead poisoning from swallowing lead batteries; lead-based paint; fishing sinkers and other lead objects; and from mine-tailings. However, in the United States, there is no evidence that such sources are a major cause of lead poisoning.

Lead Shot
In a 1 1/4-ounce, 2 3/4-inch, 12-gauge shotgun shell, there are about 280 No. 6 lead shot pellets. On the average, six shells are fired for each waterfowl bagged. This results in some 1400 lead pellets – about half a pound of lead – being deposited in the environment for each bird bagged.

Biologists sampling the bottoms of wetlands and other waterfowl hunting areas have found in some areas more than 100,000 lead pellets per acre in the upper few inches of bottom samples. Waterfowl swallow this lead shot while feeding. Studies by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reveal that waterfowl swallow lead shot today at about the same rate as 30 years ago. This indicates that birds mainly swallow shot deposited during the most recent hunting season.

Feeding Habits
The number of birds with lead in the gizzard varies among species and regions of the country, but there is a consistent pattern: diving ducks are more likely to swallow lead shot than dabbling ducks. Ducks that feed on plants and invertebrates in the water or on the surface are less likely to pick up lead shot that has settled into the bottom than ducks like pintails that may dig 4 or 5 inches into the bottom for tubers. Snow geese and swans can dig even deeper – as much as 12 to 15 inches.

Signs of Lead Poisoning
Lead poisoning is not contagious. Birds get it one by one, and it takes about three weeks for a bird to die of the disease.

Following are some of the most noticeable symptoms of lead-poisoned waterfowl: abnormal wing positions (wings carried in roof-shaped position or drooping wing tips); bright green feces on the ground; birds found in seclusion, away from water or in dense vegetation; small groups separated from other birds, especially late in the hunting season or after it; staggering gait or inability to stand or walk properly; inability or reluctance to fly ("crashes" instead of landings); birds that remain behind after others of their species have migrated; birds easily caught by people or dogs; light weight; prominent breast bone.

One thing’s sure. Every bird that dies from lead poisoning is one fewer bird to nest in the spring. And that means fewer waterfowl for hunters, birdwatchers and everyone else to enjoy.

Sources
"Lead Poisoning in Waterfowl." United States Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service.

Watering Camden Yards | Thorton Creek Watershed | Stormwater Management
The Cactus Playa | Living Unleaded | Wildlife & Lead Poisoning

Last Updated: 02/16/03
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