Bald eagles nesting in Newport News Park VA

[Donna]

It's official. Newport News Park is a place where the bald eagles roam — and raise their chicks.

A bald eagle nest can be seen at the overlook off of the Wynn's Mill Loop section of the White Oak Trail at Newport News Park, said Bryan Watts, director of William & Mary's Center for Conservation Biology. The nest is in a swampy area in one of the more remote sections of the 8,000-acre park.
The center tracks eagle's nests throughout the state, and with 177 nesting pairs along the James River 2011 is said to be a record year for the bald eagle population. For the past 50 years, the center's staff has used low-lying planes to fly over nesting areas and count the eagle's nests. Once an endangered species, the eagles have made a dramatic comeback, Watts said.

"The growth has just been phenomenal," said Watts, who credits the ban on the pesticide DDT for the resurgence.

Bald eagles were removed from the endangered species list in 1995 and from the threatened species list in 2007.

The nesting pair in Newport News Park has produced 11 chicks, Watts said, although it may not be the same nesting pair for all nine years. Bald eagles returned to Newport News Park in 2002 after about a 30-year-absence.

They co-habitate with great blue herons, which is unusual but not unheard of, Watts said.

"Exactly how they co-habitate, I don't know," he said. "Their ecosystems are similar. They both require large, old trees for nesting."

Watts said that when you consider how the eagle population is growing, and because the reservoir is right there, he would not be surprised to see another nesting pair become established on the opposite side of the reservoir.

Jane Frigo, a member of the Hampton Roads Bird Club, said she's seen bald eagles in Newport News Park for about the past five years, although she's never seen the nest.

"We used to get real excited when spotting bald eagles, because they were so rare," Frigo said.

She said she has also spotted eagles in her neighborhood near City Center, which years ago was unheard of.

Watts said that about five percent of bald eagles are now nesting in more urban settings.

dailypress

[MAK]

  WOW 177 nesting pairs on one river!  Yay for Americas' National Symbol!  Thanks Donna for the     

[valhalla]

Keep in mind that the James is a long river that passes through western VA into Lynchburg, then Central VA and Richmond, and finally to the Roads and the Atlantic.  Now you know why Rich affectionately calls the pigeons!