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Bald Eagle nest surveys

It is that time of year again when Lauren Dinan and I are out and about checking Bald Eagle nests to determine the number of active nests in the state.   We’ve grown accustomed to statewide Bald Eagle nest numbers increasing and breaking records each year.  In 2016, we tallied 118 active nests, breaking the previous record of 111 active nests set just a year earlier.  Remember, as late as 1990 there were no active Bald Eagle nests in the state.

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At the present time, we’ve surveyed 85 nests and found about 60 of them to be active (an eagle is sitting on the nest and appears to be incubating eggs).  Nine of the sixty active nests have been “new” this year.  We still have a number of nests to check and we will not receive data until later in the year from our partners, such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service and Platte River Recovery Implementation Program, who also check nests in areas of the state.

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As always, we welcome your help in determining whether the 2016 tally will be another record.   If you’ve noticed a new Bald Eagle nest in your area, please do not hesitate dropping Lauren Dinan (ngpc.nongamebird.temp@nebraska.gov) or me (joel.jorgensen@nebraska.gov) a note.  Odds are decent we may already know about the nest, but sometimes we don’t.  So, please send us an email.

Good birding!

Nongame Bird Program

Remember, Bald and Golden Eagles are federally protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.  Harassing these birds during the nesting season may be a violation of federal law, so please watch them from a distance.  Thanks!

About Joel Jorgensen

Joel Jorgensen is a Nebraska native and he has been interested in birds just about as long as he has been breathing. He has been NGPC’s Nongame Bird Program Manager for eight years and he works on a array of monitoring, research, regulatory and conservation issues. Nongame birds are the 400 or so species that are not hunted and include the Whooping Crane, Least Tern, Piping Plover, Bald Eagle, and Peregrine Falcon. When not working, he enjoys birding.

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