Bald Eagles Flying High in Local Skies
By Hope Hodge, The Daily News, Jacksonville, N.C.
Aug. 6–Lifelong birdwatcher and Carteret County native John Fussell witnessed a triumphant sight not long ago.
“Very recently, I just saw an adult eagle chasing an osprey with a fish (in its beak),” he said.
“He got away that time,” Fussell added with a chuckle.
Fussell remembers when seeing either of the birds of prey was very uncommon.
“When I was back in high school and college, seeing an eagle was a big deal,” he said. “The main thing with eagles is, they’re not nearly as rare as they used to be.”
In fact, the bald eagle population has increased so much in the state that the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission dropped the raptor from the federal Endangered Species Act list last weekend.
But while an increase from no known nesting pairs in the state as recently as the early 1980s to 41 nesting pairs this year is monumental, bald eagles remain rare and protected by laws, including the Bald Eagle protection act of 1940 and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
“I think there are three nesting pairs in the Croatan (National Forest) said Fussell, who wrote “The Birder’s Guide to Coastal North Carolina,” published in 1994. “Two in Craven County, and one in Carteret.”
“What has really helped is the banning of DDT,” he said.
The 1972 national discontinuation of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, a mosquito repellent, was indeed instrumental in the return of the eagle, said Toni O’Neil, director of Possumwood Acres Wildlife Sanctuary in Hubert.
“It was so destructive and caused so much death,” she said.
DDT in the environment caused the birds’ eggshells to get thinner, and it took years to get flushed out completely, O’Neil said.
She still worries about some of the other chemical dangers to eagles such as lead poisoning and mercury poisoning that may come from the water and fish that the birds eat.
But the public attitude toward conservation issues has changed for the better, Fussell and O’Neil said.
“It wasn’t that many years ago that people shot eagles and ospreys, any raptor bird,” Fussell said.
Now, said O’Neil, more people know to watch for and value some of coastal Carolina’s natural treasures.
“This is a tremendous birding area,” she said. “People come for tours … from all over the world.”
Camp Lejeune has done its part to help, working in conjunction with the Department of Defense to aid the eagle conservation effort, creating a protective habitat for the eagle’s nest that was discovered on base near N.C. 172 and establishing protective regulations for the seven other endangered species that live there.
As construction and new buildings continue to cut into the birds’ natural habitat, O’Neil hopes efforts to protect the species will continue and gain publicity.
“I’d really like to see more and more awareness,” she said.
Bald eagles are territorial, O’Neil said. Because of this and environmental conditions, the state population fluctuates from year to year and is not likely to increase significantly in coming years. But the sight of the majestic birds will always be a privilege for those who love them.
“I (saw) one out on Highway 53 … back in December,” O’Neil said. “Gorgeous bird … I was absolutely delighted.”
Contact Hope Hodge at hhodge@freedomenc.com or (910) 353-1171, ext. 8452.
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Copyright (c) 2007, The Daily News, Jacksonville, N.C.
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