Today the bald eagle — the United States’ national symbol — have a high density in Northwest Ohio, in Ottawa, Sandusky and Erie counties. You’ll see plenty in Northeast Ohio and the rest of the state, too.
“Based on our 2024 breeding survey, there’s an estimate of 841 nests in the state,” says Laura Kearns, a wildlife biologist for Ohio Division of Wildlife.
These numbers prove a great rebound, considering there were only two active nests at one point in the 1970s. Back then, bald eagles were threatened by the loss of wetland habitats and pesticides like DDT getting into water that eagles consumed.
“This caused their eggs to be too soft, which prevented chicks from being successfully hatched,” says Tim Jasinski, Lake Erie Nature & Science Center’s Wildlife rehabilitation expert.
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In the 1970s and ‘80s, a captive breeding program by the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, Ohio Division of Wildlife and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History gave eggs from captivity to adult wild eagles so they could hatch. Additional support for eagles comes from the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which gives federal protection to migratory birds, as well as increased conservation-mindedness of humans.
Now, bald eagles fly free in Ohio, and according to Jasinski, it would be rare to be near Lake Erie and not see one soaring by.
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