Count shows more bald eagles in Georgia

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Count shows more bald eagles in Georgia

Photos: Pilots fly over areas of Georgia to make an annual count of bald eagles in the state. The count is done by by the Department of Natural Resources. Bald eagles have returned from near-extinction.

A pair of bald eagles tend their nest near Wrens, Ga. The female keeps her eggs warm as the male arrives with a freshly caught fish. Eagles mate for life, often using the same nest adding to it each year. Nests have reached up to 10 feet wide and a weight of a half-ton.

A bald eagle soars over a farm pond near the Georgia town of Louisville. The bald eagle population of Georgia has increased from near-extinction in the 1970s to a count nearing 120 pairs, although the 2009 number was not final in March. Bald eagles were on the brink of extinction in the continental United States late in the 20th century. In Georgia, their numbers declined to one known successful nest on St. Catherines Island, followed by years of no apparent nesting.

A pair of fledgling bald eagles begin to learn how to fly as they venture away from their nest to a nearby tree in Liberty County south of Savannah. They were seen during an aerial survey.

Coots, which have strong legs and long toes well adapted to soft, uneven surfaces, flee in a panic across the surface of Clark Hill Lake.

After sweeping up the fish, the bird returns to give its two young eaglets a fresh meal. Some marsh reed dangles from its taloons along with the prey.

A bald eagle swoops down from its nest to catch a fish in the coastal marsh on Little St. Simons Island.

The eagle places the fish in the nest, urging one of the eaglets to eat.

A great horned owlet sits on the edge of an abandoned bald eagle nest at Ossabaw Island looking inquisitively at a passing helicopter during a bald eagle survey Several sightings have been made of great horned owls moving into abandoned eagle nests.

A bald eagle sits on a tree limb overlooking a grain bin on a farm in Jefferson County. Jim Ozier says they are attracted to agriculture in the area. Catfish ponds may be an attraction.

A pair of flegling eaglets snuggle togeather in their nest in Jefferson County near Louisville awaiting the return of their mother. Conservation laws, restoration work, and a ban on DDT pesticide are all factors helping the bald eagle recover from near-extinction.

A pair of fledgling bald eagles huddle high in their nest at St. Catherines Island. Locations of all known nests are kept, and new locations are added to the list as they are discovered through reports or discovery during survey flights.

A flock of coots, medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family Rallidae, churn the water on Clark Hill Lake as a bald eagle flies nearby. Coots are a t food source for Bald Eagles.

A nesting female bald eagle sits high in a pine tree overlooking Lake Oconee. Bald eagle nests are the largest of any bird in North America and are used repeatedly over many years with new material added each year. The nest is built out of branches, normally in large trees near water.

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A pair of bald eagles tend their nest near Wrens, Ga. The female keeps her eggs warm as the male arrives with a freshly caught fish. Eagles mate for life, often using the same nest adding to it each year. Nests have reached up to 10 feet wide and a weight of a half-ton.

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