DELAWARE - Though bald eagles were on the verge of extinction during the mid-twentieth century, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, they haven't been endangered since 2007 and their numbers have been increasing in Delaware in recent years.
This increase for one of America's most recognized symbols was the topic of a recent publication from DNREC's Outdoor Delaware magazine. According to the article, DNREC conducted a survey of potential eagle nests throughout the state in March 2023. Over the span of two days, DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife biologist Jordan Brown visited 173 eagles’ nests.
Found were 121 nests confirmed as eagles’ nests, with 82 designated as active. This is an increase from 2018, according to DNREC, when the last similar survey showed 77 active eagles' nests were recorded. For perspective, the 1987 survey only resulted in four active bald eagle nests being observed.
There were 82 active bald eagle nests observed in Delaware in 2023, up from four in 1987. Survey protocol and monitoring efforts have varied over the years and thus these numbers do not represent a complete count of all eagles in Delaware but do give an idea of trends. Courtesy of DNREC.
Though numbers are improving and bald eagles are no longer endangered, they are still considered a species of greatest conservation need in Delaware. Brown noted the importance in continuing to move in the right direction.
"If these species are declining, there has to be a reason," Brown shared in the Outdoors Delaware article, "so when we look at these species it’s really important for us to understand human-environmental relationships."
Brown continued to say that the direction in which the eagle population is trending may indicate an overall problem with the environment and something that may have a direct effect on human health.
Brown found that 121 nests were confirmed as eagles’ nests, with 82 of those being designated as active. This is an increase from 2018, when the last survey similar to this was performed and DNREC recorded 106 nests, 77 of which were actively being used by eagles. Courtesy DNREC/Roger Hutchins.
DNREC says the best places for spotting bald eagles in their natural habit are Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Milton, Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Smyrna, the DuPont Nature Center in Milford and along the Nanticoke River.
If you spot and would like to report a bald eagle nest, you can do so at DNREC’s reporting site. Submissions will be used by the department when conducting its next eagle survey in the years to come.