SUNDERLAND (AP) – The owner of a private trout hatchery in Sunderland and one of his employees have been charged with killing herons, osprey and at least one bald eagle that came to feed at the fish pools.

Michael Zak Jr., 58, of Sunderland, owner of the Mohawk Trout Hatchery, and Timothy Lloyd, 29, of Easthampton, were charged with violations of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, according to federal prosecutors.

A man who answered the phone on Saturday at a listing for Zak hung up without commenting. A number for Lloyd could not be located and he could not be reached for comment.

Investigators found more than 250 great blue heron carcasses, as well as carcasses of ospreys and a bald eagle on hatchery property during a probe that began in September, said Salvatore Amato, an agent for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Hadley.

Forensic testing on some of the carcasses indicated the birds, including the bald eagle, had been killed by gun shots, prosecutors said.

Special agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staked out the hatchery periodically and observed Zak shoot at a heron with a scoped rifle and Lloyd shoot and kill an osprey, authorities said.

Zak and Lloyd were released on personal recognizance and scheduled back in federal court in Springfield on May 30.