Eagles Taking to Luzerne County Skies: There Are Three Known Nesting Locations Here, Officials Say.

By Tom Venesky, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Times Leader

Feb. 24–CONYNGHAM TWP. — It took only a glance for Barry Bloss to identify the large bird he saw soaring along the Susquehanna River late last year. The Hollenback Township dairy farmer was traveling on River Road in Nescopeck Township when he spotted the mature bald eagle perched high on a large tree.

“It lifted up and flew across the river, and I could see the white head in the sun,” he said. “It just flapped a few times and glided. It’s not a bird that you see every day.”

But it is becoming more common in the area.

Bald eagles have been spotted in at least 10 different locations in the county over the last several months. Officials said their numbers are rising, and residents can expect to see more in the future.

According to Pennsylvania Game Commission biologist Tom Hardisky, there are more than 100 nesting pairs of bald eagles in the state, including 28 in the northeast and three in Luzerne County. Last year was the first time game commission employees recorded more than 100 eagle nests.

Karen Yarrish, co-owner of Wild Birds Unlimited in Dallas, spotted two eagles within the last two weeks; one in Tunkhannock and another near the North Cross-Valley Expressway near Wilkes-Barre. Both birds were seen along the Susquehanna River, she said, and they were both mature.

“We saw one soaring near the Cross-Valley, so we pulled over to watch,” said Yarrish, who is a member of the Greater Wyoming Valley Audubon Society.

“They are making a comeback and the local sightings are increasing. I attribute that to the federal laws that protected them.”

Hardisky said he attributes the local increases to a cleaner Susquehanna River as well.

“The improved water quality means more fish, and that’s the key to bringing eagles back,” he said. “They should keep increasing in the area. The limiting factor is food, and as long as we have clean water, eagles will have food. It’s a positive outlook.”

The three nesting pairs in Luzerne County, located in the areas of Shickshinny, Lake Jean and the Francis E. Walter Dam, are vulnerable to human disturbance, Hardisky said. The nesting pairs have produced young eagles in the past, and the area surrounding the nests are posted and patrolled.

“Disturbances can affect the outcome of the nests, but it seems that there’s a greater general concern and awareness among people not to disturb the nest sites,” Hardisky said.

Prior to 1995, bald eagles were listed as endangered by the federal government. The federal designation was upgraded to threatened, and Pennsylvania followed suit in 2005. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering removing the bald eagle from federal threatened species list, but they would still be protected by the Bald Eagle Protection Act and other federal and state laws.

The game commission conducts annual eagle surveys, relying on volunteers and Wildlife Conservation Officers to track nesting pairs, chicks and any other sightings.

Rick Koval, a naturalist with the North Branch Land Trust, participates in the survey monitoring a route along the Susquehanna River from Shickshinny to Falls, Wyoming County. He recently spotted an immature bald eagle near PPL’s Susquehanna Riverlands in Salem Township.

“They have been on an upward trend in the area for the last 10 years,” Koval said. “Considering they were almost near extinction and now they have come back shows that conservation works.”

Koval said he has heard of numerous recent sightings in Luzerne County, and almost all of them occurred along the river. Hardisky said the eagles are active during the winter as they breed and seek nesting areas. They are also moving up from the southern states, he added.

“They follow the river corridor as long as there is open water. But there are some that spend the entire year here,” Hardisky said.

Bald eagles have also been spotted away from the river at College Misericordia in Dallas Township. Paul Krzywicki, public relations coordinator for the college, said two eagles have been spotted frequently around the campus. He surmised the eagles stop to hunt the campus’ woods and fields as they fly between Harveys Lake and Frances Slocum State Park.

“I don’t believe they are nesting here, but there’s quite a few people who have seen them on a regular basis,” Krzywicki said.

Koval said eagles are not only predators of fish, but they are equally efficient scavengers and even opportunists.

“They will follow fish-eating ducks and gulls and pirate fish from them,” he said.

Luzerne County WCO Dave Allen said he has seen bald eagles in Shickshinny, Harding, Francis E. Walter Dam and near the Market Street Bridge in Wilkes-Barre. He agreed that the numbers are up and speculated that there may be more eagles in the county that have yet to be seen.

“It’s good that they’re prevalent again in the county,” Allen said. “It’s not uncommon to see an eagle around here anymore.”

The Susquehanna River provides for perfect eagle habitat because of the abundance of fish and the large trees lining the banks, according to Koval. Eagles prefer to nest in tall trees near a food source, he said. The impressive birds have a wingspan as wide as eight feet and weigh up to 14 pounds.

“Seeing one is a reminder of what it was like 100 years ago,” Koval said. “It’s a true sign of the wilderness.”

Eagle population Protecting the Species

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The Pennsylvania Game Commission started the state’s seven-year bald eagle reintroduction program in 1983, when only three nesting pairs remained in the Commonwealth. The agency sent employees to Saskatchewan to obtain 12 eaglets from wilderness nests in the first year. With financial assistance from the Richard King Mellon Foundation of Pittsburgh and the federal Endangered Species Fund, the project spurred the release of 88 Canadian bald eagles into the wilds of Pennsylvania at Haldeman Island in Dauphin County and Shohola Falls in Pike County.

In 2006, Game Commission employees recorded for the first time more than 100 bald eagle nests within Pennsylvania’s borders.

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The increase of bald eagle sightings and nests isn’t unique to Pennsylvania. According to Greg Butcher, director of bird conservation for the National Audubon Society in Washington, D.C., every state in the nation has seen a rise in bald eagles.

Butcher said eagle numbers have been increasing for the past 20 years and are close to peaking.

“They are pretty close to occupying all of their available habitat, so we can expect the population to stabilize,” he said.

Butcher attributes the increase to the banning of the pesticide DDT in 1972 and the protections afforded under the Endangered Species Act. Populations have rebounded so well that the eagle has been upgraded from endangered to threatened. Eagles could be delisted (removed from the federal threatened species list) as early as June, but they will still be protected by the Bald Eagle Protection Act.

Despite the positive outlook, Butcher cautioned there are threats that need to be monitored.

“People are concerned if the eagle is delisted it could lead to more conflicts with land development near nest sites,” he said. “The two most important things from here on out is to control development near nest sites and keep the water clean.”

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Copyright (c) 2007, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Times Leader

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

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