Bald Eagle
Bald eagles can be found soaring high above the Chesapeake Bay's forested wetlands. Image courtesy Mike Land / Michael Land Photography.
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 Chesapeake Bay region may once have provided habitat for as many as 3,000 pairs of breeding bald eagles. Today the region's population is smaller, but the Bay watershed still has one of the highest bald eagle concentrations in the lower 48 states.
Historic Decline in Bald Eagle Population
In the late 1930s, the Chesapeake Bay region's bald eagle population began to shrink as a result of poaching, habitat loss and contamination from the pesticide DDT, which, at the time, was widely used 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 Chesapeake Bay watershed.
In 1972, DDT use was banned in the United States, and in 1973, the bald eagle was listed as an endangered species in the lower 48 states. Shortly after these actions were taken, the nation's bald eagle population began to slowly 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 Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
The long-term success of the Chesapeake Bay's eagles depends largely on the management of their habitat, which includes mature forested areas along the shoreline of the Bay and its rivers. Bald eagles nest, roost and perch in mature loblolly pines and other large trees located near the water, where their main foods — fish, turtles, aquatic mammals and other birds — live. The rapid rate of waterfront and shoreline development in the Chesapeake Bay region has the potential to limit bald eagles' further recovery over the next several decades.
- Bald Eagle: Soaring to Recovery: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service details the history and current status of Chesapeake Bay bald eagles.
- Bald Eagle: Information from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources about where bald eagles nest and live in Maryland.
- Friends of Blackwater NWR – Eagle Cam: A live bald eagle cam, including photos and a blog, by the Friends of Blackwater at the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Cambridge, Maryland.