The Soaring New Jersey (NJ) Bald Eagle count

Many years ago, they used to spray the pesticide DDT in an attempt to control the mosquito population.
They had no idea at the time, that DDT would have such a devastating affect upon the environment, especially the health of eaglets.

By the time 1982 arrives, there was only one known eagle nest in all of the state of New Jersey (NJ).
That nest only gave rise to 1 eaglet that survived long enough to fledge (leave the nest in flight).
With the banning of the use of DDT along with a Clean Water Act, the eagles have gotten much healthier.
in 1985 there was still only 1 nest, but 2 eaglets fledged.
In 1990 there were 4 nests and 5 eaglets fledged.
In 1995 there were 11 nests and 19 eaglets fledged
In 2000 there were 23 nests and 30 eaglets fledged
In 2005 there were 48 nests and 64 eaglets fledged
In 2010 there were 82 nests and 69 eaglets fledged
In 2015 there were 150 nests and 199 eaglets fledged
and this year 2019 there were 189 nests and 248 eaglets fledged,
(Source NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife)

That's a terrific recovery.

Mosquitos are now controlled with more biological techniques.
For instance certain small fish specialize in eating mosquito larvae,
Those fish are inoculated into streams and swamps,

We need to ensure that we do not damage the ecosystem with man-made harmful chemicals,
especially those who have residual affects.
We are a part of that ecosystem. Our food comes from it.

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Although I do personally have a lot of bald eagle photos, I got lazy and posted the one above from the internet. I wonder how many viewers know how to tell the difference between male & female bald eagles.