Bald Eagle Nests Are On the Rise

Bald eagle sightings may increase this spring and summer. There are a record number of bald eagle nests with chicks or eggs in southern West Virginia right now. The Gazette-Mail reports there are eight along the New River and its tributaries between Hinton and the Virginia border. Six additional nests are being monitored to see if they’ve got young eagles in them. The bald eagle population across the country dropped to just 487 nesting pairs in 1963 after being shot to near extinction by farmers and suffering from the widespread use of the pesticide DDT. It wasn’t until 1981 that a bald eagle pair was seen nesting in West Virginia again. Now, there are estimated to be more than 100 nesting pairs in West Virginia.