BRADENTON, Fla. -- Reward donations have hit $14,000 for information that helps catch the person who shot an American bald eagle in Manatee County.

Sarasota-area attorney Larry Byrd said about $12,000 in pledges had been received by Thursday.

That's being added to a $1,000 reward put up by the federal government and $1,000 from Byrd himself.

The female eagle was found Sunday by an Audubon Society member. It was sitting in its nest with two eggs. After their mother was shot, the baby eagles incubating in the eggs also died.

The case is being investigated by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Eagles are protected by law, though they have been removed from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. The shooter could face three federal charges of killing an eagle.