Bald Eagle population soars - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

Bald Eagle population soars

May 21, 2007

Adel -  On any given day, visitors to Reed Bingham State Park will see a wide variety of wildlife.

But it's their two newest tenants who are creating the biggest stir.  "We are the only state park with an active eagles nest on it for the second year in a row," says Park Manager Chet Powell.

The bald eagle has been protected by the Endangered Species act for decades, but a nationwide boom in their population could have them off that list as early next month.  "I think it's a good thing because they've shown remarkable recovery from starting out at 400 nesting pairs in the lower 48 to now over seven thousand nesting pairs," said Brad Bergstrom, a VSU Biology Professor.

Thanks to changes in agricultural pesticides and conservation efforts to protect the nests.  "They tend to use the same tree year after year for their nests," he adds.

To keep their eagles nesting at Reed Bingham, they've shut down the area around the current nest.

And have put out a small swimming pool they'll sometimes fill with food to keep the both babies healthy.  "If one egg hatches two days before the other one than that one has a jump state in size and it dominates and takes all the food and the other one can be pushed out of the nest or starved to death," Powell says.

These young birds have just taken flight and can now be seen soaring over Reed Bingham.

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