Conservation News
Conservationists go airborne to observe state's bald eagles
By Kyle Wingfield
The young eagles huddling together seemingly paid little mind to the helicopter circling above their pine tree nest at Lake Oconee.
The chopper's occupants, however, were keenly interested in the fact that they counted three fledgling bald eagles -- an excellent number for one nest of the long-endangered species.
The bald eagle, once feared to be on the brink on extinction due to habitat changes and toxic chemicals such as the pesticide DDT, was wiped out in Georgia during the 1970s. But through rereleases and careful monitoring, the bald eagle now is close to being taken off Georgia's endangered list and being ''delisted'' nationally.
The Department of Natural Resources conducts airborne observations like the one made Wednesday twice a year, once in January or February to count the number of eagle nests in the state and again before May to count newborn eaglets.
A state conservationist says the regular checks are one way of continuing to secure the eagle's habitat and population, even if it officially loses its endangered classification.
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