Game Commission Photo

Pennsylvanians have a greater chance of seeing a bald eagle today than anytime in probably the past 150 years, according to the Game Commission.

The bald eagle, our nation's symbol of strength and freedom since the days of Benjamin Franklin, has exceeded the wildest dreams of state and national wildlife managers by colonizing most of the Northeast's major rivers and impoundments with nests and their majestic presence.

"As we prepare to celebrate America's historic Declaration of Independence this Fourth of July, it is pleasing to know that bald eagles have at least 120 nests within the state's borders," said Carl G. Roe, Game Commission executive director. "Their comeback is truly one of the most phenomenal in the annals of America's wildlife conservation."

As recently as 1983, there were only three eagles nests remaining in Pennsylvania. That year, the Game Commission began a seven-year bald eagle reintroduction program in which the agency sent employees to Saskatchewan to obtain eaglets from wilderness nests. Financial assistance for this effort was provided by the Richard King Mellon Foundation of Pittsburgh and the federal Endangered Species Fund. In all, 88 Canadian bald eagles were released from sites located at Dauphin County's Haldeman Island and Pike County's Shohola Falls.

"You can't help but feel a sense of satisfaction whenever fieldwork and cooperation blossom into something as important and priceless as the return of the bald eagle," emphasized Roe. "These birds are a symbol of American freedom and epitomize our ruggedness and resolve as a people.

"The bald eagle's comeback should put a smile on the face of every Pennsylvanian, because so many of us care about them. It's obvious in the way people respond to news about the eagle's return, and from their excitement when they see one. Eagles matter. A lot!"

The Game Commission, partnering with other states and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, helped to bring bald eagles back from the brink of extinction. The effort dovetailed with important gains made in improving water quality and other environmental reforms, which led to increases in the quality and quantity of freshwater fish, a staple in the eagle's diet. Pennsylvania's eagle resurgence also was likely stimulated by young eagles dispersing from the Chesapeake Bay, which now has hundreds of nesting pairs, and neighboring states that reintroduced eagles, too.

The Game Commission and USFWS currently classify the bald eagle as a threatened species. On October 4, 2005, the Board of Game Commissioners moved the bald eagle from the state's endangered species list to its current place on the threatened species list.

In 1995, the USFWS moved the bald eagle from the federal endangered species to its threatened species list. Now, the USFWS is considering the bald eagle's removal from the threatened list, and could make a final determination on its status this week. If the bald eagle is officially de-listed, eagles still will receive federal protection under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Currently, there are about 9,800 breeding pairs of bald eagles in the lower 48 states. As recently as 1963, the number of breeding pairs was 417. Vermont was the last contiguous state to host nesting eagles. In 2006, a Green Mountain State nest produced eaglets for the first time since reintroduction began.

Despite Pennsylvania's notable gains in eagle nests, Doug Gross, Game Commission ornithologist, pointed out that nasty winter and early spring storms played havoc with several eagle nests this year.

"Several nests were damaged and a few were blown down," Gross said. "Pairs were not seen around some nests after these storms. We do believe that some renested at other - yet unknown - locations. Eagle can have multiple nests in a territory and may use different nests in different years.

"The Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day storms were pretty damaging to eagle nests, as was the cold - and occasionally freezing - weather that followed in April. Young, less experienced eagles are more inclined to leave their nests and allow their eggs to become chilled. Eagles being flushed from nests by intruders also can influence nest failure in cold weather.

"In 2006, Pennsylvania eagles sustained an 80 percent nest success rate," Gross said. "We may not do quite as well this year, but I anticipate that we'll have at least a 70 percent success rate, which will continue to fuel eagle expansion. It's important to point out, too, that some of our eagles come from other states enjoying similar success. So, even if reproduction is off some here, it may not be in Maryland or New York, and consequently Pennsylvania will feed off of the success of neighboring states."

One of the more memorable bald eagle stories from Pennsylvania this spring concerns three eaglets that fell from a nest along Lancaster County's Conestoga River during a strong wind storm. Half the nest blew away in the storm and the eaglets eventually fell with it.

While one eaglet died in the fall and another was killed by a predator, a landowner and his daughters rescued the surviving eaglet, which sustained fractured ulna bones in both wings. The bird was taken to Tri-State Bird Rescue in Newark, Del., where, after several weeks of specialized care, the bird had recovered sufficiently enough to be returned to a wild nest.

Steve Bernardi, Game Commission Land Management Group Supervisor from Snyder and Perry counties, was called in to place the eaglet in a Berks County nest that contained one eaglet, hatched within a week of the rescued bird. After he reached the nest - about 100 feet up in a huge pine tree - Bernardi waited for the young eagle to be delivered.

"We swaddled the bird in a large oval basket like a baby, squeezed the basket and bird into a duffle bag and hoisted the eaglet to the top of the tree," explained Lancaster County Wildlife Conservation Officer Linda Swank, who helped manage the eaglet's return to the wild, from the day it was rescued until it was placed in the nest. "Steve Bernardi, while hanging onto the side of the tree, had to undo the wrappings. When he went to put the eaglet in the nest, the tricky part was to grab the eaglet the right way, as their talons are very sharp by this age. A short time later, an adult female was seen feeding both eaglets."

Currently, the Game Commission is aware of bald eagle nests in 40 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties. It's also entirely likely to see an eagle - mature or immature - in any county. The agency confirmed 143 eaglets fledging from instate nests in 2006.

"Right now, eagles seem to be filling in the corners of the Commonwealth," Gross said. "There are 22 new nesting territories, and those nests included first-timers in Bucks, Elk, Fayette, Jefferson, Philadelphia and Wyoming counties. We also have a nest on Presque Isle, a historic nesting ground, which breaks a long drought of eagle occupation there. New nests also were found in Crawford, Dauphin, Erie, Huntingdon, Lancaster, Pike, Westmoreland and York counties."

The new nest in Philadelphia County on the Delaware River shoreline sparked quite a bit of attention, but eventually failed. Built in a tree under the approach of aircraft to the Philadelphia International Airport and along the busy Delaware River boat lanes, the nest wasn't exactly nestled in habitat eagles use typically. It is believed the nest had one egg, and that egg may have hatched. But the nest failed and a predator - possibly a red-tailed hawk, Cooper's hawk, gulls, crows or a raccoon - is believed to have intervened. It is not clear whether the eagles will return to this specific nest site, but adult eagles have been seen in the general area.

"Philadelphia County Wildlife Conservation Officer Jerry Czech approached the nest after it went several days without a visitation from the nesting pair," said Doug Killough, agency Southeast Region Director. "All he found was a few small pieces of eggshell. It is hoped that the nest will be used again next year."

The return of the bald eagle in both Pennsylvania and the contiguous United States is directly related to reintroductions and nest site protection. But, the species future hinged on the banning of DDT and other organochlorine pesticides. Eagles, as well as ospreys, peregrine falcons and a multitude of songbirds, were rendered reproductively incapable by DDT and the like, because the birds were bio-accumulating the contaminants the pesticides contained through prey consumption. DDT - banned nationally in 1972 - rendered the shells of birds' eggs so brittle, they broke when sat upon.

Rachel Carson wrote in Silent Spring, "The history of life on earth has been a history of interaction between living things and their surroundings." She referred to the interdependencies - that often aren't easy to identify or interpret - of organisms on each other and the environment. When America was sprayed and dusted repeatedly and for decades with DDT, the environment was slowly loaded with toxins that eventually devastated the very existence of eagles and many other creatures that had thrived for centuries. Without emergency and sustained special assistance from wildlife conservation agencies, bald eagles would have perished.

The state's largest concentrations of bald eagles - both currently and historically - are found in three geographic areas: the expansive wetlands of Crawford, Mercer and Erie counties; along the lower Susquehanna River in Chester, Lancaster and York counties; and the Poconos and Upper Delaware River region.

The Game Commission is always interested in reports from the public about new nests and news about bald eagle nests.

"The increased use of rivers and lakes at this time of year by the boating public has yielded new nests to our inventory in recent years," Gross said. "If you encounter a nest, give the birds some elbow room, take some notes and drop us an email about the specifics. Remember, we cannot protect a nest unless we know about it."

To learn more, visit the bald eagle webpage or send questions to Game Commission biologists via: pgccomments@state.pa.us .

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