US Eagle Populations

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EAGLE NUMBERS MAY BE AT ALL TIME HIGH
by Steve McCadams

The eagle has landed.

A lot of them are flying around too, thanks to what may be their highest number ever as to breeding pairs.

There was a time when eagle sightings were somewhat rare here in the Kentucky Lake area. Back in the early 1980’s a few more started showing up, thanks to a combination of factors such as hacking projects at what was then TVA’s Land Between the Lakes.

Other contributions at the Tennessee and Cross Creeks National Wildlife Refuges as to good habitat and closed off areas so as to allow nesting without disturbance were part of the success story too.

I’ve logged what seems like a million miles on Kentucky Lake in my boat here at Eagle Creek at the mouth of the Big Sandy River but until the late 1980’s I could just about count all the bald eagles I’d ever seen on just one hand.

Fast forward to the present day fishing and hunting trips and the majestic bird is a pleasant and common sighting on most days during the late fall, winter, and early spring outings.

We often watch each other hunt and fish.

At times I swear they know me. At least I’d like to think so. Around the duck blind it’s me and the dog every day on a similar route at similar times. During the late winter and early spring I see one or two at the same spots and we exchange what seems to be eye contact on a regular basis.

I wish I had their patience.

Like me they have their daily routes and routines. They come from the high ridges of Stewart and Houston County at times. A couple of others call the old 23^rd district their home here at the Big Sandy peninsula where I suspect they nest somewhere on the refuge.

Often times they gather in fairly large numbers on sandbars during the winter. When seven or eight gather at one spot the presence of a pecking order is clear. One or two of the senior citizens seems to pull rank now and then, putting the others in their place when a fish carcass enters the picture.

Kind of like having several dogs but only one bone.

Later in the day when the feeding chores have been fulfilled the huge feathered friends seem to bond and soak up the sun in harmony. From tall trees with dead snags they observe the goings on and sometimes put on a show of aerial maneuvering while ascending high in the sky as they ride thermals.

The big wing span commands respect and they use it to intimidate waterfowl, searching for the weak one in the flock like a tiger monitoring the herd on an African savannah.

Everything just seems to go better when the eagles are around.

The adults sport that festive white head and yellow beak that seems to accent their keen reputation. Makes you wonder what Ben Franklin was drinking when he recommended the turkey over “his majesty” for our national symbol!

     And now to the reason I’m spilling ink this week on bald eagles…. The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced results showing the largest population of breeding bald eagles in the U.S. since World War II. Bald eagles in the lower 48 states have climbed from an all-time low of 417 nesting pairs in 1963 to an estimated new high of 9,789 breeding pairs today.
    This updated estimate is based on information gathered by the States in 2004 or later. Minnesota tops the list with 1,312 pairs of eagles, followed by Florida with 1,133 pairs and Wisconsin's 1,065 pairs. There are also eagles now breeding in the District of Columbia and the state of Vermont, which was the only state in the contiguous U.S. which lacked eagles until the first eaglets hatched successfully in 2006.
    The bald eagle, which is protected as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, once sounded an environmental alarm for the American public when it was learned the widespread use of the pesticide DDT had the national symbol plummeting towards extinction.
    For years after World War II, DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) was used to control mosquitoes and agricultural pests. When it rained, DDT would wash off the soil and into the waterways. There, it was absorbed by aquatic plants and animals. Fish ate the plants and animals, and eagles ate the fish.
    When ingested, the chemical compound would build up in the fatty tissues of female eagles and prevent the formulation of calcium necessary to produce strong eggshells. Consequently, eggshells thinned and cracked when an adult tried to incubate them. Widespread reproductive failure and a precipitous decline in numbers followed.

Rachel Carson, a biologist and writer for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, became aware of the dangers of chemical pesticides including DDT, but was also aware of the controversy within the agricultural community which needed such pesticides to support crop production. Carson made the decision to produce her book Silent Spring after years of research across the United States and Europe.
When Silent Spring was published in 1962, Carson immediately became the focus of a storm of controversy. But as a result of her research and the publication of Silent Spring, the government eventually banned the use of DDT in 1972.

Steve McCadams is a professional hunting and fishing guide here in the Paris Landing area. He has also contributed many outdoor oriented articles to various national publications.

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