Nesting eagles prove elusive

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By Jim Morris Updated 8:53 PM Wednesday, May 13, 2009

A few days ago, I grabbed my trusty binoculars and headed over to Englewood MetroPark to see if I could see the pair of bald eagles that are supposed to be nesting there.

Eagles have been spotted at Englewood before, but all have been transient.

The recovery of the bald eagle has been amazing, thanks mostly to the ban on certain pesticides in 1972.

In fact, eagles have done so well since DDT was banned — it weakened the structure of their eggs — they’ve been removed from the federal endangered list and are now listed as threatened.

Thirty years ago, there were only four nesting pairs of bald eagles in the state, all along the Lake Erie shore. In 2008, 184 eagle pairs produced more than 222 young. A record 206 active eagle nests have been identified in the state so far this year, several in southwest Ohio.

-- The pair in the City of Dayton well field near Eastwood MetroPark has hatched eggs.

-- Grand Lake St. Marys has two nests, both successful this year.

-- Butler County has a nest along the Great Miami River, but it was unsuccessful.

-- Hamilton County has a successful nest on the Whitewater River.

-- Brown County has a nest on the Ohio River.

-- Rocky Fork State Park has nest in Highland County.

-- Paint Creek Lake has a nest in Ross County.

An Englewood nest would be Montgomery County’s second.

Unfortunately, I was unable to spot the pair during my hour of watching. But I’ll be back out for another look soon.

Short shots

Tour the bog: If you’re interested in getting into the lottery to visit Cranberry Bog State Nature Preserve in Buckeye Lake from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 20, send a postcard to the Division of Natural Areas & Preserves, 2045 Morse Rd., F-1, Columbus, Ohio 43229. Postcards must be postmarked by May 31 and contain: name, address, phone number and total number of people (not to exceed four). Only one postcard per family. For information, call (614) 265-6520.

Antiques: If you have an antique boat or outboard motor and like to show it off, consider taking it to Lake Fest on June 20 at Caesar Creek State Park. The 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. festival will be free.

To sign up or for information, call Tim Miller at (937) 298-4515.

Contact this columnist at (937) 225-2409 or jmorris@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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