On a typical day visitors can spot Bald Eagles roaming the skies above Osborne Nature Center. Currently, they are preparing their nests for courtship. Rewind back to the year 1977, when there was only ONE active Bald Eagle Nest in the entire state of Iowa. The use of the pesticide DDT had caused Eagle's egg shells to become so thin that the egg shells would break once the parents sat on them; thus reducing breeding populations.
Thankfully, the banning of DDT in 1972 significantly helped restore Bald Eagle populations nationwide. Today, there are over 254 active nests in the State of Iowa, with at least 16 of those nests being in Clayton County alone. The Iowa DNR is looking for volunteers who would like to monitor or "adopt" a nest this year. If you are interested please contact IDNR Wildlife Diversity Specialist Stephanie Shepherd at Stephanie.Shepherd@dnr.iowa.gov In the meantime, be sure to keep an eye in the sky (or trees) for one of the best comeback stories of the past 30 years.
The link below will take you to a Live Bald Eagle Nest webcam in Decorah, Iowa. The nest is being monitored by Luther College. http://www.luther.edu/eaglecam/stream/
Friday, February 5, 2010
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THIS IS GREAT. IT'S SO QUIET BUT YET IT SPEAKS POWERFULLY ABOUT OUR SIGNIFICANCE AS ANOTHER INHABITANT OF THIS EARTH. WHAT A GIFT!
ReplyDeleteYes, truly an amazing comeback story that we can learn alot from. There is some disconcerning information regarding lead ingestion and eagles that will be posted later.
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