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August 3, 2005
GOVERNOR TAFT NOTES CONTINUED SUCCESS OF
OHIO’S BALD EAGLE RESTORATION EFFORTS
Statewide, more than 100 nests produced and more than 100 eaglets fledged
 COLUMBUS, OH - For the second year in a row, bald eagles in Ohio have produced more than 100 nests across the state, Governor Bob Taft said today while touring the Natural Resources Park at the 2005 Ohio State Fair. A live bald eagle is a special feature of the native wildlife display in the park this year.
The 125 nests recorded this year in Ohio mark the seventeenth consecutive year that the state’s breeding bald eagle population increased, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). Eighty-five of those 125 nests were successful in producing young eagles. Current reports from wildlife biologists and volunteer nest observers indicate that 136 eaglets have fledged in 39 Ohio counties.
“The inspiring return of bald eagles to Ohio skies shows our remarkable progress toward restoring the land and water habitats in which these eagles thrive,” Taft said. “In less than three decades, we’ve gone from a mere eight bald eagles along our Lake Erie shore to more than 200 spread along many of Ohio’s major waterways.”
Last year, Ohio marked 108 nests, with 73 of those nests producing 127 eaglets. This year, 17 new nests have been identified in 11 counties. Most significant is an eagle nest in Brown County, the first recorded in the county in modern times. Nearby Highland County also had a first-time nest this year.
Since 1979 - when only four bald eagle pairs were found in the state - the ODNR Division of Wildlife has helped reestablish Ohio’s eagle population through habitat development and protection, fostering of young eagles, and extensive observation of eagle nesting behavior.
Most eagle nests in Ohio are located along the shores of Lake Erie, but now some are well inland, including nests in Delaware, Noble, and Wyandot counties. Counties with new nests in 2005 were Sandusky (4), Ottawa (3), Wood (2), Erie (1), Brown (1), Huron (1), Henry (1), Highland (1), Lucas (1), Seneca (1), and Trumbull (1).
An average eagle nest ranges from 3 to 5 feet in width and 3 to 6 feet in depth. The nests are usually built high in a tall tree. Both male and female eagles share in the incubation and feeding of the young, which begin to leave the nest at about 12 weeks of age. An adult bald eagle has snow-white head and tail feathers. Its body color is very dark brown, almost black. Yellow eyes, beak, and feet accent the bird's appearance. Young eagles do not achieve this appearance until the age of 5 or 6 years. Until that time, they are uniformly dark brown from head to tail feather. Their undersides are mottled white with buff and cream blotches.
The ODNR Division of Wildlife’s work with bald eagles is funded through the sale of the bald eagle license plate. Proceeds from the sale of this plate are devoted to acquisition of habitat, management, and study of the bald eagle. To purchase the bald eagle license plate, contact your local deputy registrar or call the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles at 1-888-PLATES3.
Funding is provided, in part, through matching funds from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service state wildlife grants program, to benefit species of greatest conservation need. Additional funding for bald eagle restoration is derived from contributions to the Wildlife Diversity and Endangered Species Fund through a check-off on the Ohio state income tax form.
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