CLEVELAND, Ohio – There are an estimated 841 active bald eagle nests across Ohio, according to a recent state survey. That’s down from 910 last year.

But don’t let the numbers give you the wrong impression. The majestic raptor, which has been a symbol of America going back more than two centuries, continues to thrive, according to Jamey Emmert, spokeswoman with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife.

For example, when state researchers sampled 49 nests this year, they found eggs or eaglets in 82% of them, compared with a success rate of 73% in 2023 and 48% in 2022, according to the Division of Wildlife. An active nest this year averaged 1.6 eaglets, compared with 1.2 last year and 0.8 in 2022.

Various reasons could have contributed to fewer sightings this year, Emmert said. For one, trees leafed out earlier, making it more difficult to spot an eagle’s nest.

In conducting the survey, the state flew over five blocks of about 10 square miles each in wooded areas and along waterways. One section along Lake Erie near Sandusky and another in the Mosquito Creek State Wildlife Area east of Cleveland are surveyed every year.

The other three blocks that were surveyed this year as part of a rotation were along the Maumee River in Defiance and Henry counties, the vicinity of Grand Lake St. Mary’s in Mercer and Auglaize counties, and Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area in Wayne County.

Weather and avian flu can also affect eagle populations from one year to the next, Emmert said, as can territorial disputes. The more eagles there are, the more difficult it is for them to find prime nesting spots, she said.

Emmert said there are areas in the western marshes of Lake Erie where you can stand and see nesting eagles in every direction, whereas 20 years ago biologists didn’t think eagles would make their nests that close together.

Eagles tend to mate for life as long as both stay healthy, Emmert said, or one stops being a good producer or provider and gets “kicked to the curb.”

Bald eagles are protected under state and federal laws that make it illegal to harm or disturb one of the birds. They have made a remarkable comeback since 1979 when there were only four known nesting pairs in all of Ohio.

The bald eagle was removed from Ohio’s list of threatened an endangered species in 2012, after having been removed from the federal list in 2007.