Georgia bald eagles rebound as nesting success returns to average levels

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Georgia’s bald eagles are having an average nesting year – and that’s good news, according to the scientists who study them.

“It was just a few years ago that bald eagle nesting on the Georgia coast was devastated by the outbreak of avian influenza,” said Department of Natural Resources biologist Bob Sargent, who leads the state’s bald eagle nest surveys.

Coastal bald eagles seem to be recovering from the flu, Sargent said, with about 73% of nests successfully fledging at least one eaglet. That figure is in line with the average for a typical year, and marks an improvement from 2022. That year, avian influenza ravaged coastal birds, and there were only 34 successful bald eagle nests and 50 fledglings on the coast. This year saw 59 successful nests and 83 eaglets.

“It’s not spectacular, but it’s not bad either,” Sargent said of the coastal numbers.

Farther inland, avian flu is having a bigger impact, though it’s not as severe as that first year of flu on the coast, he said. Nest success in southwest Georgia was just below average this year with a rate of 68%.

There’s emerging evidence that certain bird species, including bald eagles and vultures, are developing immune resistance to avian influenza. That is reflected in Georgia’s nesting numbers, Sargent said, which show the flu having less impact on the coast where the disease has been around for longer.

“If you’re an eagle in the interior of the state, if you’re over by the Alabama state line, for instance, you’ve more recently come into contact with avian influenza,” he said. “Perhaps you and your neighbors haven’t had a chance to build some immune response and resistance to the virus.”

Southwest Georgia bald eagles are also coping with storm damage. Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which swept through the state in September and October of last year, damaged nests and took down nesting trees. The storms hit just when bald eagles were returning to the state and building up their nests for the season, Sargent said, and the damage was still evident during aerial nest surveys earlier this year.

“I saw just large swaths of forest just laid down, like a sickle had been swung through the forest,” he said.

But bald eagles are resilient, according to Sargent, and birds often rebuild in a nearby tree if theirs falls.

Bald eagles have enjoyed a successful recovery in Georgia from their low point in the 1970s, when there was only one known successful nest. But they are still a threatened species in the state, so Sargent said it’s important to leave the birds and their nests alone – and report any nests to DNR to help with accurate species tracking.