Great news after they were almost wiped out countrywide from DDT in the 60s'/70s.
Ohio’s bald eagle population continues to rebound with now more than 800 nests Updated: Mar. 10, 2022, 5:33 a.m. | Published: Mar. 09, 2022, 2:09 p.m.
Bald eagles nesting in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, March 7, 2022 A bald eagle nests in a tree in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park near Stone Road, just west of the Towpath Trail. The eagle took over a Heron nest within a rookery in that area. Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com
By Peter Krouse, cleveland.com CLEVELAND, Ohio – Ohio’s bald eagle population continues to grow with an estimated 110 new nesting sites added to the count since the last statewide bald eagle census was conducted in 2020.
The 2020 census placed the total number of nests – most of them active - at 707 across 85 of 88 counties. But the state’s Division of Wildlife recently calculated an increase to 817 based on various factors that include reproductive success rates and the maturing of young eagles to breeding age.
The census was conducted using aerial surveys along with visual identification from the ground that the division refers to as “ground truthing,” said Jamey Emmert, spokeswoman for the Division of Wildlife, which is part of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
The last bald eagle census prior to 2020 was in 2012 when there were 281 documented nests across 59 counties.
Why the dramatic increase? A healthier environment and greater efforts in finding the eagles are two reasons.
“The cleaning up of Lake Erie has helped,” said Andy Jones, curator of ornithology at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and so has the improving quality of rivers and waterways.
That includes eliminating the use of DDT and other pesticides, which contaminated the food chain decades ago and led to serious reproductive problems for eagles, Jones said. The pesticides resulted in females producing eggs with fragile, thin shells that would sometimes crack under the weight of the nesting mother.
While some debate the role DDT played in the decline of the eagle, Emmert said, “What is completely true is that when DDT was banned in the ‘70s, bald eagle populations recovered.”
It has taken awhile, however, for pesticide levels to decline, and in 1979, there were only four known active bald eagle nests in the whole the state.
They were in the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, Whites Landing on Sandusky Bay, Wightman’s Grove on the Sandusky River, and the Toussaint Wildlife Area near the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, recalled Harvey Webster, who ran a bald eagle breeding program for the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
The museum, one of several institutions that worked with the state to restore the bald eagle population, hatched eaglets in captivity and re-introduced them to the wild.
Webster said the museum had six males and three female eagles over the course of the breeding program, which ended in 1999. In some cases, the eagles were bred and other times eggs in danger of not hatching were removed from wild nests and incubated at the museum, with the eaglets then returned to nature.
In all, the museum placed 13 eagles in wild nests and none of them were refused by their occupants, Webster said.
The program was instituted at a crucial time when the eagle population was in danger of being extirpated, which is when a species doesn’t become extinct but can no longer be found in a certain region.
Another reason Ohio has seen a surge in the documented number of bald eagle nests is that more people are looking for them, Emmert said. The state embarked on a media campaign encouraging the public to be on the lookout for bald eagles and to report any findings, Emmert said, “and people got very excited because you’re hard pressed to find somebody who doesn’t love a bald eagle.”
There are actually 2,500 or more bald eagles in the state if you include both the breeding eagles - two per nest - and the young eagles that have yet to mature and begin reproducing, Emmert said. It takes about three years for female eagles to start nesting and five years for males to be ready to participate, she said.
The greatest concentration of bald eagles in Ohio is toward the western end of Lake Erie where the lake and nearby marshes provide an abundance of fish. Eagles will also eat other animals and roadkill. In fact, eagles feasting on carrion have been known to be struck and killed by motor vehicles because they could not take flight fast enough to avoid getting hit.
According to the census, Ottawa County had 90 bald eagle nests in 2020, Sandusky County had 50 and Erie County had 32. Trumbull County, which is south of Ashtabula County and incudes Mosquito Creek Lake, was next with 26 nests.
The 2020 census shows Cuyahoga County with three documented nests, but it appears there is at least one new one in the county, said Jake Kudrna, a naturalist with Cleveland Metroparks.
He said within the Metroparks there are nests in Rocky River Reservation, the Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation and Brecksville Reservation.
The nesting location in Brecksville Reservation, which is at Station Road, is the one “that people have known about for a really long time,” said Ryan Trimbath, biologist for Cuyahoga Valley National Park. While the nest is in Brecksville Reservation, it is monitored by the national park and most viewing occurs from a spur off the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail within the park.
Recent observations indicate that the nest “failed” this year, he said, meaning the birds that were incubating earlier in the season have since stopped.
Another nest in the national park that was first noticed this year is atop a heron nest off Canal Road, south of Rockside Road, and the birds appear to be incubating, Trimbath said. The nest can be viewed from the Towpath.
The park also is monitoring a third nest, Trimbath said, but he declined to give the location because the eagles living there are skittish. He believes this is the fourth year for that nest, with the same “spooky pair” inhabiting it the whole time.
Bald eagles have average wingspans of about 6 feet to 7 1/2 feet, and a nest is a site to behold. They are made of sticks and vegetation and average about four to five feet across and two to four feet deep, Emmert said.
A massive eagle’s nest in Lorain County that was blown down in a storm in 1925 was 12 feet high and 8 1/2 feet wide. It is considered “the largest ever bird-built tree nest recorded in Ohio,” according to Lorain County Metro Parks. A replica of the nest can be found at the Metro Parks’ Vermilion River Reservation.
Great Nest of Brownhelm The Great Nest of Brownhelm is "the largest every bird-built tree nest recorded in Ohio," according to Lorain County Metro Parks. It was 12 feet high and 8 1/2 feet wide and weighed nearly two tons. It was toppled by nasty weather in 1925.
I remember what a big deal it was when we hit 100 active nests. I was volunteering for the Division of Wildlife bald eagle restoration program at the time. The researchers were really surprised at how far inland the nests were appearing, and that the eagles were adapting to eating mammals along with the regular diet of fish and waterfowl. I don't think anybody foresaw us having active nests in just about every county in the state.
And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul. - John Muir
Just had an eagle circling our development for about an hour yesterday. We're in a fairly wooded developement 5-6 miles west of Ladue Reservoir. Circled high at times and low above the treetops at times for closer looks. Just amazing to watch.
I thought I read somewhere that Ladue alone had quite a few nests.
Let this sink in..... On 12-31-23 it be will 123123. On the flip side, you can tune a piano but you can't tune-a-fish.
We've had a couple nests nearby for many years, but the last couple years we have seen then hovering nearby, or gliding by heading toward the neighborhood lakes and ponds. Have a couple blue heron that always fish in the pond across the street.
I put up a bird feeder a couple years ago for the wife, and while we still get a lot of grey doves, and have always had a regular Cardinal family, we recently have been seeing a few wood peckers showing up.
Testament to the bird feeder. Squirrels would always climb up and eat everything, so I took a 2" PVC pipe painted it black, pounded it into the ground about 3 feet, put a coupler on it and another 6' 2" PVC. At the top I put a bell dome from a hanging bird feeder, then mounted a feeder above the bell. The squirrels cannot get to the feeder now, and it's just far enough from the pool cage they can't make the jumps without under or over shooting it.
Had a black bear show up one day and literally pulled the feeder all the way down to get to the seed, and when he released it, it popped right back up. The soil around the base was a little loose, but still packed in good.
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
LOL...yea, discouraging a bear is a different deal. I guess you didn't want to go out a kick it, did you?
We have 2-3 active Baldy nests in the area. One is not many miles up the river from where I walk. I have seen them out fishing 3-4 times over the last couple of years. You usually see lot's of birds out, but when the eagles are flying, the skies and water are void of any bird activity.
I guess it's like when the big dog wants the porch, the other dogs scatter.
In Tennessee there are 175 active, year round nests. Eagles are more common up north in the spring and summer. In the winter, the population runs up towards 1000 as the birds migrate to southern nesting grounds.
A few miles out of town there is a spot that sandhill cranes nest for the winter migration. I mean like 20,000 of them show up every November'ish and stick around until around now. At least the majority of the ones that have been tagged come in from Canada.
If everybody had like minds, we would never learn.
I live in an urban center. Historic district. Old, stately homes. BUT- My home is in a unique setting: we are a one city block walk from an urban nature preserve. That acreage adjoins the largest member of our city's Metropark system. So that means my neighborhood is part of a natural corridor for almost anything you'd find in an Ohio forest. 20+ miles of interconnected trails and footpaths, just minutes from my door. I've actually watched a red fox walk right down the middle of one of our streets. Having Nature up in my neighborhood and property is an honor and privilege, even if our backyard garden takes a yearly hit.
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I can't tell you Dawgs how happy I am to be reading a thread like this.
I remember back when I was in high school that Bald Eagles- America's national emblematic animal- were placed on the Endangered Species List. Turns out, a universally-applied insecticide containing the chemical compound known as DDT was responsible for the precipitous decline in raptor populations. Each successive generation of apex predator raptors was suffering catastrophic population decline due to increased infant/gestation mortality. Their shells were too thin to sustain life. We were lucky that the American Bald Eagle was part of the effected group- if they weren't our national symbol, an entire class of animal might have gone extinct, courtesy of our intellect/ignorance. We were long on chemicals... and woefully short on insight.
To this day, I thank Richard Nixon for forming the EPA.
In the world of nature and evolution, trends almost never reverse. But we did this thing. What a magnificent success story. We brought an entire class of animal back from the brink. And now, all of their species are flourishing- in our back yards.
Look what people can do, when they commit to something worthwhile. We are not yet irredeemable.
Of all your, um... unique... takes on here, I think this might be the... most unique.
There is no level of sucking we haven't seen; in fact, I'm pretty sure we hold the patents on a few levels of sucking NOBODY had seen until the past few years.
Every time this thread pops up to the top of my queue, I smash that "open me" spot on my TV screen with a quickness.
It's always like Christmas Day, because this is one of the best top-shelf, feel-good environmental stories of our shared lifetimes... and it happened/is happening right here in our back yards. On our watch. This story has been part of my entire adult life, and it has been a privilege and treat to see it happening with my own two eyes- in Real Time... over the span of decades. These creatures are magnificent in every way imaginable, and it's an added bonus that they happen to be one of our nation's official symbols.
I'll add this thought, as well: That they are able to thrive along America's North Coast is further testament to the improving health of our Lake Erie ecosystem*.
I was a late elementary schooler when the Cuyahoga River caught fire- and 2 years later, Lake Erie was predicted to be dead within a generation. I remember putting on a facemask, dunking beneath the surface of Erie, and seeing a wall of water beyond my glass that was the same yellow-green one would find in an infant's diaper, after a meal of Gerber® strained peas. This is an ecological success story that deserves worldwide attention: we have the power to destroy Our Home, but we also have the power to restore Our Home. My backyard is living proof. I live in an urban setting at the shore of Lake Erie. I live 10 minutes from the heart of of My City, one city block's distance from a MetroParks nature preserve, a mere hour from the epicenter of Ohio's "Bald Eagle Renaissance."
And for the past 8 years, Bald Eagles have soared above my home, in Toledo, Ohio.
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I came here tonight, looking for more good news. Maybe new vid embeds. Something to lift the spirits, as Spring brings fresh life back to Ohio. Instead, I find us-not in a rabbit hole- but a really deep wagon wheel rut, trenched by one singular poster.
Nobody is ever going to hunt Bald Eagles back to "threatened" status in Ohio. This is stupid.
The next time this thread pops up to the top spot, I hope it's because there is news about our state's avian apex predators- not because it has been bumped by another poorly-considered, socially awkward toss-off attention-seeking post from THROW_LONG.
Bald Eagles, people. Back from the brink. In Ohio. #eyesontheprize.
*(the lead sinkers are a real and ongoing problem, as are the miles of monofilament we must still find an answer for)
I am not sure how the filament problem can be solved.....you'd almost need a line that is water soluble, but one that requires constant contact with water and takes several years to work.
As for lead I think we are on our way to fixing that. Getting the lead out of the water is a different issue. Dredging is about the only thing you can do, and it doesn't work very well, or even possible in a wetland area where you can't rip up the ecosystem.
If everybody had like minds, we would never learn.
Here's another feel good story not far from where we live. The Kirtland's warbler was recently removed from the endangered species list. Like the eagle recovery, this also took a monstrous effort from the Michigan ODNR, the US Forest service, the Audobon Society and thousands of volunteers. You can go up to Grayling, MI and actually take free guided tours of some of the nesting areas. Here's an article detailing the program and a crappy photo I got when we took the tour about 10yrs ago. We had good viewing opportunities, but they didn't fully cooperate for pics...they were just a little too far away and backlit.
Kirtland’s Warbler Delisted After 47 Years Of Conservation Work
On October 8, 2019, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that the Kirtland’s Warbler—one of the charter members of the Endangered Species Act of 1973—had completed its population recovery.
“The effort to recover the Kirtland’s Warbler is a shining example of what it takes to save imperiled species,” said Margaret Everson, principal deputy director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in a statement about the warbler’s removal from the endangered species list.
Over the past five decades, the Kirtland’s Warbler population has skyrocketed from a low of fewer than 200 breeding pairs to around 2,300 pairs today—more than double the USFWS’s recovery goal. The recovery was fueled mostly by a two-pronged strategy of controlling the Brown-headed Cowbird population in Michigan where Kirtland’s Warblers breed (cowbirds are nest parasites that lay eggs in the warblers’ nests) and restoring the species’s favored jack-pine forest breeding habitat. (See Jack Pine Juggernauts: What Will Happen To Kirtland’s Warblers After Delisting?, Summer 2017).
subscribe to Living Bird magazine “The delisting of the Kirtland’s Warbler is cause for celebration and proof that the Endangered Species Act works,” said Shawn Graff, vice president of American Bird Conservancy’s Great Lakes program. “But this warbler is still among the rarest, most range-restricted migratory birds in North America. It is conservation reliant, meaning that continued management efforts are imperative for the population to hold its ground.”
While the delisting is indeed happy news, it carries undertones of uncertainty because it means the loss of dedicated funding from the USFWS for conservation management. But according to Nathan Cooper, a postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center who studies these birds, “most of the ESA money each year went toward cowbird management.” And that may no longer be needed.
In July, the Journal of Wildlife Management published research by Cooper that showed cowbirds parasitized less than 1% of Kirtland’s Warbler nests after cowbird traps had been recently removed. It seems the Kirtland’s Warbler population is strong enough now to tolerate cowbirds. “We’re still working out what parasitism rates the Kirtland’s population can withstand,” Cooper says, “but it’s safe to say 1 to 2% is fine.”
The real key to keeping the Kirtland’s Warbler population healthy, says Cooper, will be the continuation of forest management to create and sustain the young jack pine habitat where the birds nest. As a condition for the warbler’s delisting, the USFWS, U.S. Forest Service, and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources signed a memorandum of understanding that the agencies will continue habitat management at sufficient levels to ensure a continued stable Kirtland’s Warbler population. Keith Kintigh, a forest conservation specialist with the Michigan DNR, says his agency will plant 1.8 million jack pine seedlings per year going forward to help maintain the 38,000 acres of suitable jack-pine habitat needed to keep the warbler population above the 1,000-breeding-pair threshold for recovered status.
MORE ON KIRTLAND'S WARBLER Jack Pine Juggernauts: What Will Happen To Kirtland’s Warblers After Delisting? View From Sapsucker Woods: Endowing A Future For The Kirtland’s Warbler Thursday At AOU: A New Kind Of Conservation For Kirtland’s Warblers “It’s a core responsibility of MDNR to regenerate forests after harvest, so we are obligated to find a way to fund this work,” says Kintigh. “[The tree planting] will continue to be paid for by a combination of grants and…state funds.”
Some of those grants could come from a newly created Kirtland’s Warbler Fund that American Bird Conservancy set up to raise private resources for maintaining conservation support for the species in the future. The fund is being managed to generate sustainable revenue for research and habitat conservation from the Kirtland’s Warbler’s breeding grounds in and around Michigan to its wintering grounds in the Bahamas.
In its final Kirtland’s Warbler delisting rule, the USFWS considered the impact of hurricanes in the Bahamas, such as 2019’s devastating Hurricane Dorian. But while the islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama took a direct hit from Dorian in August, the islands to the south were mostly spared—including Eleuthera, Cat, Long, and San Salvador Islands, where the largest known populations of Kirtland’s Warblers overwinter.
And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul. - John Muir
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