Bald eagles thrive again in Georgia

For a while in the 1970s, it looked like the only place Georgians might spot a bald eagle was in an Audubon book.

The majestic birds were near extinction in the continental United States, and for several years there were no signs of nesting in the state. DDT contamination was believed to be the cause of their dwindling numbers.

A ban on the pesticide in 1973 helped to put the bald eagle on the comeback trail.

Jim Ozier, a program manager with the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division Nongame Conservation Section, began surveying nests in 1988 and has data back to 1978 when nesting activity was discovered again. Locations of all known nests are kept, and new locations are added to the list as they are discovered through reports or discovery during survey flights.

“We return to the known sites, investigate promising reports, and look for new nests in good habitat along the way,” Ozier said.

Ozier is still waiting for a final number this year after the last round of nest checks in March.

“I suspect the number of known nests this year to be 115-120. There were 114 two years ago, 112 last season, and only 49 10 years ago,” he said. Over his 20 years of surveys he has seen Georgia’s bald eagles soar from fewer than 10 pairs to the current numbers. A recent flight along Georgia’s coast confirmed 41 occupied territories this year, compared with 39 last year.

Bald eagles are no longer on the federal endangered species list because populations have recovered throughout the nation, with the exception of the desert Southwest. Georgia still lists the species as “threatened.”

Ozier said that conservation of bald eagles and other rare species and habitats gets no state funding. The Nongame Conservation Section has to raise funds through license plate sales, a state income tax checkoff and its annual Weekend for Wildlife fund-raiser.

Georgians who see a bald eagle nest, or two or more eagles together, can contact the NCS office in Forsyth, 478-994-1438.

ABOUT BALD EAGLES

> Adults can weigh 14 pounds, with 8-foot wingspans.

> Eagles mate for life. They normally use the same nest, adding to it each year.

> Pairs lay one to three eggs by December. The young fledge in three months and are on their own in about four.

> Bald eagles live up to 25 years in the wild.

> Fish are a staple. Eagles also eat turtles, snakes, rabbits, waterfowl and other small animals.

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