COLUMBUS ‒ Bald eagles are flourishing in Ohio.
With Independence Day arriving, the Ohio Division of Wildlife reported that there are 964 confirmed active bald eagle nests in the state.
The agency said there are active nests — those with incubating eagle, eggs, or eaglets present — in 87 of Ohio’s 88 counties. The only county without one is Meigs in southeastern Ohio.
The Division of Wildlife released a map showing how many nests are in each county. Ottawa County along Lake Erie leads the state with 112, followed by neighboring Sandusky with 61 and Erie with 40.
“Bald eagles prosper in areas with wetland habitat,” the Division of Wildlife said. “Lake Erie and other large waterbodies host the highest number of eagles because of easy access to food, such as fish.”
Based on a survey of nests, “the success rate, or the number of nests with eggs or eaglets, was 78%,” the agency said. “Last year, the nest success rate was 82%, and it was 73% in 2023. This year, the number of eaglets per active nest was 1.3. That was slightly lower than last year’s number of 1.6 and similar to 2023 (1.2).”
The state also released maps showing how the bald eagle population has grown in Ohio since 2012.
Bald eagles were once an endangered species
In 1979, Ohio only had four nesting pairs of bald eagles. Through partnerships between the Division of Wildlife, Ohio zoos, wildlife rehabilitation facilities, concerned landowners, and conservationists, its population increased, according to the Ohio Division of Natural Resources.
Bald eagle management by the Division of Wildlife includes habitat conservation with an emphasis on wetlands and wooded river corridors, working with rehabilitators who help injured birds, and enforcing state and federal protection.
Thanks to those conservation efforts, the bald eagle was removed from the federal list of threatened and endangered species in 2007 and from Ohio’s list in 2012.
Which Ohio counties have the most bald eagle nests?
Stark County has six eagle nests, according to the Division of Wildlife. The 13 counties with the highest number of bald eagle nests are:
Includes reporting by the Columbus Dispatch.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Bald eagles flourishing in Ohio. Only 1 county doesn’t have a nest
Reporting by Canton Repository / The Repository
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