Raptor Recovery Nebraska is struggling to pay for the care of nine eagles, including three bald eagles that are suffering from lead poisoning and need special medication.

Three other bald eagles and one golden eagle are recovering from broken wings, and two more disabled eagles are permanent residents of the center near Elmwood.

Food and medical bills for all nine total about $500 a week, said Executive Director Betsy Finch.

"We've never had that many on hand with lead poisoning," she said. "We've had them before but not three at a time."

Finch gives each of them two shots each day of medication that binds to the lead and allows the birds to excrete the metal through their kidneys. She also takes periodic blood samples to monitor their lead levels.

"Trying to catch eagles that don't want to get caught is no easy task," she said. "As they get better, they will get harder to handle. Right now, they are pretty sick."

Raptor Recovery Nebraska has been rehabilitating and releasing injured and orphaned birds of prey back into the wild for 30 years. Species include falcons, hawks, owls, merlins, ospreys and eagles.

The eagles there now may have gotten lead poisoning by eating ducks, geese and shorebirds that were sick from ingesting lead pellets while feeding on lake bottoms and mud flats, said Dave Titterington, owner of the Wild Bird Habitat Stores in Lincoln.

"Although lead shot is prohibited for waterfowl hunting, tons of this lethal material remains in lakes, posing a problem for all birds," he said in a news release. "Lead poisoning in eagles can cause blindness, nerve and brain damage, paralysis, starvation and ultimately death."

It may take at least another month to get rid of the poison, Finch said.

Federal law prohibits displaying the birds, she said.

Reach Algis J. Laukaitis at 473-7243 or alaukaitis@journalstar.com.