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The Bald Eagle: Back from the Brink
Spring 2009

I was driving to the grocery store in Galena the other day, and something in the sky caught my attention. So, as most birders are wont, I took my eyes off the road (not a good idea) and checked it out. It was big and dark and I could tell by the length of its wings and the way they were held out perfectly straight that it wasn’t a hawk or vulture.

Could it be? Then, the sun glinted on its white head and I knew for sure… it was an eagle soaring above the roof tops and church steeples of town! What a majestic sight! But on thinking it over, I had been seeing an eagle perched in the trees along Stagecoach Road just outside of town near the river. Maybe (s)he has a nest near town or is checking out the neighborhood prior to moving in!

We Northwest Illinois residents have become accustomed to seeing eagles this time of year near the dams along the Mississippi, but for the past few years I’ve been hearing more stories of seeing them farther inland. Being birds of prey, bald eagles aren’t particularly neighborly.

They can be seen in large concentrations this time of year only because of the dearth of open water. But to settle down and build a nest that they will return to each year, they need to find a tall, sturdy tree located near a source of free flowing water and away from prying eyes in the middle of their own big (from 30 to 120 acres) territory. So, just like human young families in urban areas, they’ve started to spread out to the remoter “suburbs”.

As the world contemplates the potential of mass extinctions caused by habitat destruction and climate change, there are lessons to be learned from the bald eagle. Our national symbol, native to every state but Hawaii, was on the brink of extinction thanks to wide-spread habitat destruction, poisoning (DDT) and hunting.

By 1963 there were only 417 nesting pairs counted in the lower 48 states. That number could have dropped to zero, like the passenger pigeon population, but for three important steps taken by the federal government. First, the Bald Eagle Protection Act of 1940 made the taking, possession and commerce in eagles a crime.

However, in spite of this, bald eagle populations continued to drop until it was discovered that the wide-spread use of DDT to combat mosquitoes was negatively impacting eagle survival rates. Research showed that DDT concentrated in flora and fauna as it moved up the food chain until it reached levels that began to interfere with calcium metabolism in eagles. This caused weakened eggshells that tended to break before hatching, causing the eagle population to plummet even more.

The banning of DDT in 1972 and the passing of the Endangered Species act in 1973 started the long comeback for the bald eagle. By June of 2007, almost 10,000 nests were counted in the lower 48 and the bald eagle was delisted as an endangered species, although it continues to be protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.

From 1943 to the late 70s there were no known nests in the state of Illinois. Now there are about 50 known bald eagle nests in Illinois, nine of which are located at the Lost Mound Unit of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. Long-time Guardian Beth Pomaro monitors two of those nests and is happy to report that four eagles fledged from them last year. Close to 100%!

Bald eagles still continue to face hazards that must be closely monitored and controlled. Even though injuring them is illegal, they are still harassed, injured and killed by guns, traps, power lines, windmills, poisons, contaminants and destruction of habitat. Yet, there is much less funding available to provide for their management and protection. Public awareness about their status, strict enforcement of protective laws, preservation of their habitat, and support for environmental conservation programs are needed to assure them a healthy and secure future.

—Laurie Mattas