COLUMBUS, OH - Officials at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife report that unusually strong wind gusts this past weekend blew down two bald eagle nests and damaged another, causing all three to be abandoned.
A nest located on the Olentangy River in Delaware County, was brought down by wind on Saturday and the eggs it contained were broken. The lost eggs had been expected to hatch about the 22nd of this month. The adult eagles have been observed working on a second nest at Delaware State Wildlife Area, but it may be too late for them to produce young this year.
It could be too late in the nesting cycle for these birds to recycle or start incubating new eggs, said Mark Shieldcastle, a wildlife biologist who has monitored the states bald eagle population for 15 years.
Another nest, at the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge in western Ottawa County, was also blown down by the storm and its eggs lost, said Shieldcastle, and a third nest along the Portage River in Ottawa County, sustained so much damage that it was abandoned. First-time parents occupied the Portage River nest, according to Shieldcastle, and it is unlikely that they will attempt to re-nest this spring, though they may do so next year.
Its not uncommon for first-timers to experience some difficulty, he said. By their second year, theyve learned a lot more about nesting and parenting.
Last year, 74 bald eagle nests produced a record of 106 eaglets. This year, 79 nests have already been located, and incubation had begun in 51 nests. Shieldcastle said another survey of nests would be conducted in April and more nests may be found at that time.
Bald eagles reach breeding maturity at three or four years of age. The average eagle nest is three to four feet across, four or five feet deep, and may weigh between 500 and 1,000 pounds.
Restoration efforts for bald eagles in Ohio are funded by the endangered species and wildlife diversity state income tax checkoff, purchase of bald eagle license plates and donations. Ohio taxpayers can donate all or a portion of their state income tax refund to the Wildlife Diversity and Endangered Species Fund by checking line 25 (form 1040) or line 17 (EZ form) on the 2001 state income tax form.