Celebrating Earth Day 2024
This is a currently active nest with at least two 2 eaglets and possibly a third, located in Cook County, Illinois. The nest has only been observed from more than 700 yards away, using binoculars and a camera with a 600mm lens, and cropping of the images. It is quite amazing to see how careful the adult eagles are as they walk around the nest to feed the eaglets.
*Enlarge the collage, then scroll over the bottom two photos to see a tiny eaglet, located just underneath it's mother's beak, as she leans to feed it.
"In March 2021, the US Fish & Wildlife Service published the report Bald Eagle Population Size: 2020 Update. In that technical update, the Service provided the newest estimates for the bald eagle population in the lower 48 states, totaling 316,700 individuals, which includes 71,467 occupied nests. This new population estimate shows that the bald eagle population has quadrupled in the lower 48 states since the last population estimate from 2009.
"To estimate the bald eagle population in the lower 48 states, Migratory Bird Program pilot biologists and observers from many Service regions, programs, and contract observers conducted aerial surveys over a two-year period in 2018 and 2019. The Service flew aerial surveys over high-density eagle nesting areas to generate accurate estimates and count occupied nesting territories.
"To obtain information on the lower density eagle nesting areas, the agency worked with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to use eBird relative abundance data to acquire information on the areas that were not practical to fly as part of our aerial surveys. Based on those two major sets of data for this population estimate, the Service next created an integrated population model to expand the estimates of the number of occupied nests across the plot area to estimates of the
entire population in the lower 48 states. Information on survival rates, productivity, and breeding rates provided the information needed to make this conclusion. The final result is an estimated population with 316,700 individual bald eagles now living in the lower 48 states."
For more information and updates pertaining to this species and also Golden Eagles see the following links: view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fw...
www.fws.gov/program/eagle-management
www.fws.gov/law/bald-and-golden-eagle-protection-act
www.fws.gov/law/migratory-bird-treaty-act-1918
Celebrating Earth Day 2024
This is a currently active nest with at least two 2 eaglets and possibly a third, located in Cook County, Illinois. The nest has only been observed from more than 700 yards away, using binoculars and a camera with a 600mm lens, and cropping of the images. It is quite amazing to see how careful the adult eagles are as they walk around the nest to feed the eaglets.
*Enlarge the collage, then scroll over the bottom two photos to see a tiny eaglet, located just underneath it's mother's beak, as she leans to feed it.
"In March 2021, the US Fish & Wildlife Service published the report Bald Eagle Population Size: 2020 Update. In that technical update, the Service provided the newest estimates for the bald eagle population in the lower 48 states, totaling 316,700 individuals, which includes 71,467 occupied nests. This new population estimate shows that the bald eagle population has quadrupled in the lower 48 states since the last population estimate from 2009.
"To estimate the bald eagle population in the lower 48 states, Migratory Bird Program pilot biologists and observers from many Service regions, programs, and contract observers conducted aerial surveys over a two-year period in 2018 and 2019. The Service flew aerial surveys over high-density eagle nesting areas to generate accurate estimates and count occupied nesting territories.
"To obtain information on the lower density eagle nesting areas, the agency worked with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to use eBird relative abundance data to acquire information on the areas that were not practical to fly as part of our aerial surveys. Based on those two major sets of data for this population estimate, the Service next created an integrated population model to expand the estimates of the number of occupied nests across the plot area to estimates of the
entire population in the lower 48 states. Information on survival rates, productivity, and breeding rates provided the information needed to make this conclusion. The final result is an estimated population with 316,700 individual bald eagles now living in the lower 48 states."
For more information and updates pertaining to this species and also Golden Eagles see the following links: view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fw...
www.fws.gov/program/eagle-management
www.fws.gov/law/bald-and-golden-eagle-protection-act
www.fws.gov/law/migratory-bird-treaty-act-1918