The bald eagle, our national bird, was once on the brink of extinction. Before European settlement, there were an estimated half a million bald eagles in North America. Once the influx of settlers began, the population of bald eagles began to decline due to loss of habitat and the direct competition for food with humans (people had the advantage at hunting with weapons at their disposal). Farmers and fishermen saw the eagle as a threat and often hunted them as well as other birds of prey. By the 1930s, it was obvious that the bald eagle was disappearing.
In 1940, Congress enacted the Bald Eagle Act which made it against the law to hunt or harass bald eagles. It was at this same time that the use of the pesticide DDT became widely popular. With the growing population of the United States, farmers had to make sure they could grow enough crops and DDT took care of all of the insects that could harm those plants. The effects of the pesticide were not immediately apparent. The poison made its way into the water and was eventually taken up by fish, which happen to be a bald eagle’s favorite food. Eagles eating poison fish were not affected right away but their eggs were—DDT caused the shells to become so thin that just the act of incubating the eggs broke them.
The bald eagle was officially declared an endangered species in 1967. In 1973, Congress passed the Endangered Species Act. This law, along with the ban on DDT, was a start to the eagle’s recovery. Across the country in the 70s and 80s, there was an effort to help eagles by hatching bald eagle chicks and placing them in nests of successful adults. Slowly but surely the bald eagle population across the U.S. began to grow. The goal was to remove the bald eagle from the Endangered Species list by 2007.
Lake Metroparks' Animal Ambassador Apollo
The eagle population in Ohio has made an unprecedented comeback. Today, bald eagles are a common site in Ohio, especially along river corridors and the shores of Lake Erie. The Ohio Division of Natural Resources recorded four nests in 1979 and in 2018 there were an astounding 286 nests recorded. Eagles lay eggs in late February into March, so a successful nest could have up to three eaglets fledge the nest, although two is the average. This equates to approximately 445 young eaglets being raised. January is a good time of year to see an eagle pair flying with sticks to add to their nests. They return to the same nest every year.
The bald eagle was removed from the federal threatened and endangered list in 2007 and from Ohio’s listing in 2012, but they still face many threats. Believe it or not, illegal shooting and lead poisoning are among the primary threats to bald eagles. Habitat loss, power line electrocution and wind energy also play a role in eagle deaths. Even though eagles are still protected under the Bald & Golden Eagle Protection Act, hundreds die each year.
January 19 is Bald Eagle Appreciation Day. Join us at 1 pm at Penitentiary Glen Reservation to meet our bald eagle ambassador Apollo, learn more about eagles and discover how you can aid their survival.