This is bird note.

Bald eagles are primarily fish eaters, and that means whatever fish ingest in the water ultimately

affects Eagles too.

In the 1990s, Eagles in the southeastern U.S. began dying of a mysterious brain disease, but there was a S. also known as water time. After a lot of research took years and years,

they were able to determine that there is what's called

a cyanobacteria associated with the hydrilla that grows on the hydrula leaves that when

ingested by birds of prey particularly causes brain damage and the birds will

die. This is Greg Bugby, an invasive plant expert for the state of Connecticut,

where Hydrila has expanded rapidly.

While Greg and his colleagues haven't seen birds dying this way in Connecticut,

they're working to find ways to stop

the spread of Hidrila, to protect the state's waterways and all the species that depend on them.

So this is the Connecticut River.

It's an estuary, a river system that has a lot of ecological value.

They feel it could affect fish, birds, mammals, that possibility is there.

There is certainly a lot of concern that some sort of control measure needs to be done now

or quickly.

Learn more about invasive plants and their effect on birds, waterways, and more on this special

season of the Bring Birds Back Podcast.

Listen in your favorite podcast app or at birdnote.org I'm Ade Ben Salahoudin.