Bald Eagle

The bald eagle, a large raptor and the national symbol of the United States, has made a significant comeback over the past few decades, after its population declined nation-wide over much of the 20th century. The Bay region may have once provided habitat for as many as 3,000 pairs of breeding bald eagles. Today, the Chesapeake population is much smaller, but the watershed still has one of the highest bald eagle concentrations in the lower 48 states.

Historical population losses

In the late 1930s, the Bay region's bald eagle population began to decline as a result of poaching, habitat loss and contamination from the pesticide DDT, which was used widely at the time to control mosquitoes. It wasn't until the 1960s that researchers found that DDT caused bald eagles and other birds to lay eggs with brittle shells that would crack when the parents would sit on them. By 1977, only 74 active eagle nests could be found in the Maryland and Virginia portions of the watershed.

In 1972, DDT use was banned in the United States, and in 1973, the bald eagle was listed as an endangered species in most of the lower 48 states. Shortly after these actions were taken, the nation's bald eagle population slowly began to increase. By 1995, bald eagles had recovered enough that the species was reclassified as “threatened.”

Bald eagles today

In June 2007, the bald eagle was removed from the federal list of threatened and endangered species. The species is still protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

The long-term success of Chesapeake eagles depends largely on the management of shoreline habitat and mature forested areas. Bald eagles nest, roost and perch in loblolly pines and other large trees located near water, and feed on fish, turtles, other birds and aquatic mammals. The rapid rate of development in the Bay region, particularly near shorelines, has the potential to limit further recovery of bald eagles over the next several decades.