Ohio's 2020 bald eagle nest census shows numbers off the charts

An effort combining volunteers with the Ohio Division of Wildlife showed that over a two-month period in February and March some 707 American bald eagle nests were counted.

That eagle nest census figure demonstrates a 151 percent increase from the 2012 census count of 281 nests, the Wildlife Division says in a press release.

The Wildlife Division’s release says the agency received approximately 2,500 reports from the public for the 2020 census. Wildlife Division staff, including wildlife officers and biologists, verified nest locations in 85 counties.

Counties along or near Lake Erie have the highest number of bald eagle nests. Bald eagles thrive near Lake Erie because of the abundance of food and nesting habitat, the agency says.

The 12 counties with the highest number of eagle nests include: Ottawa (90), Sandusky (50), Erie (32), Trumbull (26), Seneca (24), Wyandot (19), Lucas (18), Licking (17), Ashtabula (16), Knox (16), Mercer (16) and Wood (16), also says the agency in its release.

The bald eagle was once an endangered species, with only four nesting pairs in Ohio in 1979. However, thanks to partnerships between the Division of Wildlife, Ohio zoos, wildlife rehabilitation facilities, concerned landowners, and sportsmen and women its population increased.

After much hard work and continued conservation, the bald eagle was removed from the federal list of threatened and endangered species in 2007 and from Ohio’s list in 2012, the Wildlife Division says.

Bald eagles in Ohio typically lay eggs and incubate in February and March. Young eagles leave the nest about three months later, usually in June. The birds nest in large trees such as sycamores, oaks, and cottonwoods near large bodies of water. Fish and carrion are preferred foods.

Here is the county-by-county 2020 American bald eagle nest census results with their respective 2012 census counts in parentheses (Note that these numbers are raw data and subject to change): Adams: 1 (0); Allen: 5 (0); Ashland: 9 (2); Ashtabula: 16 (9); Athens: 1 (0); Auglaize: 4 (0); Belmont: 4 (1); Brown: 4 (1); Butler: 8 (0); Carroll: 1 (0); Champaign: 2 (0); Clark: 5 (0); Clermont: 4 (0); Clinton: 2 (0); Columbiana: 4 (1); Coshocton: 14 (6); Crawford: 6 (3); Cuyahoga: 3 (2); Darke: 1 (0); Defiance: 8 (2); Delaware: 13 (7); Erie: 32 (17); Fairfield: 2 (0); Fayette: 3 (0); Franklin: 5 (3); Fulton: 3 (0); Gallia: 1 (0); Geauga: 7 (6); Greene: 4 (0); Guernsey: 2 (1); Hamilton: 3 (1); Hancock: 12 (4); Hardin: 9 (1); Harrison: 1 (1); Henry: 6 (0); Highland: 4 (1); Hocking: 1 (1); Holmes: 5 (1); Huron: 15 (5) Jackson: 0 (0); Jefferson: 2 (1); Knox: 16 (7); Lake: 7 (4); Lawrence: 0 (0); Licking: 17 (3); Logan: 8 (1); Lorain: 10 (3); Lucas: 18 (8); Madison: 2 (0); Mahoning: 7 (5); Marion: 11 (6); Medina: 5 (1); Meigs: 0 (0); Mercer: 16 (3); Miami: 5 (0); Monroe: 4 (1); Montgomery: 3 (1); Morgan: 1 (1); Morrow: 5 (2); Muskingum: 6 (2); Noble: 1 (1); Ottawa: 90 (46); Paulding: 3 (0); Perry: 2 (0); Pickaway: 9 (3); Pike: 4 (2); Portage: 8 (5); Preble: 3 (0); Putnam: 8 (2); Richland: 14 (5); Ross: 7 (4); Sandusky: 50 (33); Scioto: 2 (2); Seneca: 24 (7); Shelby: 3 (0); Stark: 4 (1); Summit: 5 (2); Trumbull: 26 (9); Tuscarawas: 9 (6); Union: 8 (4); Van Wert: 2 (0); Vinton: 1 (0); Warren: 4 (2); Washington: 1 (1); Wayne: 7 (2); Williams: 4 (0); Wood: 16 (7); Wyandot: 19 (12). 2020 total: 707; 2012 total 281.

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn

JFrischk@Ameritech.net

JFrischk4@gmail.com