FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 15, 2000

OAK HARBOR, OH -- A recent aerial survey by state wildlife biologists revealed Ohio's bald eagle population has increased this nesting season to a record 63 nests with a record 89 young, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife. Last year 57 bald eagle pairs nested in the state and raised 72 eaglets.

During the survey, wildlife biologists discovered that two nests with young had fallen to the ground. Two bald eagle chicks from one of the nests were rescued and given new homes when biologists determined they had been abandoned.

"It was a very successful fostering project as both adult eagle pairs immediately accepted their new family additions," said Mark Shieldcastle, state wildlife biologist. "Eagles are very adaptable when getting another mouth to feed."

One eagle chick was placed in a nest near Gibsonburg in Sandusky County and the other was placed in a nest near Pemberville in Wood County. In each instance, adult bald eagle pairs were raising two additional young of their own.

The abandoned chicks came from a nest located near Lindsey in Sandusky County. The nest apparently fell to the ground during heavy winds. The chicks were found on the ground near the destroyed nest and placed on an elevated platform to help protect them from predators. Wildlife personnel began feeding the chicks on the platform in hopes the adult birds would return to care for the young. After several days, when the eaglets' health began to deteriorate and the adults had not been seen in the area, division personnel decided to relocate the chicks to suitable nests with other eagle young.

The eaglets were first taken to Nature's Nursery, a wildlife rehabilitation center in Toledo, for medical care before going to their new homes in Gibsonburg and Pemberville.

In a separate incident, two eaglets were recovered from a fallen nest on the Killbuck Wildlife Area in Wayne County. The partially intact nest remains were placed on a constructed platform and the two eaglets placed in the nest remains. In this instance, the adult eagles are continuing to care for the young on the platform.

Fostering was a major part of the division's Bald Eagle Restoration Program in the 1980s and helped put Ohio's bald eagle population back on the road to recovery. At that time, eaglets raised by captive eagles were placed into active nests in the wild. Captive-bred birds are no longer fostered, but fostering projects are still conducted today in circumstances where eggs or young are abandoned by adult eagles. Last year, three eggs from an abandoned nest were incubated. Once the eggs hatched and the young were several weeks of age, they were fostered into wild nests.

Eagle nests are currently located in the following Ohio counties: Delaware (1), Erie (6), Geauga (1), Harrison (1), Henry (1), Knox (1), Lorain (1), Lucas (4), Mahoning (2), Marion (1), Mercer (1), Muskingum (1), Noble (1), Ottawa (12), Portage (1), Ross (1), Sandusky (9), Seneca (4), Summit (1), Trumbull (5), Wayne (1), Wood (2), and Wyandot (5).

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For Further Information Contact:
Melissa Hathaway, ODNR Division of Wildlife
(419) 625-8062
-or-
ODNR Crane Creek biologists
(419) 898-0960