Below please see the news release with the statewide Mid-winter Eagle
Survey results.  The information can also be accessed on-line at:
http://www.ohiodnr.com/news/default.htm

Thanks again to all on this list who submitted observations!
Donna Daniel, ODNR-Div. of Wildlife
District 1, Columbus

OHIO MID-WINTER BALD EAGLE SURVEY RECORDS 480 BIRDS
 Number is second highest ever noted during annual count. 

        OAK HARBOR, OH - Observers counted 480 birds during the recent
Mid-Winter Bald Eagle Survey, the second highest number ever recorded
during the event.
        The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of
Wildlife conducts the annual study. The total included 359 mature and
121 immature birds.  
In 2006, 206 eaglets fledged from a record 150 nests in Ohio.
        Last winter's all-time record survey counted 554 bald eagles,
which included 329 mature and 225 immature birds. Immature bald eagles
are those without completely white heads. They are generally less than 5
years old.  
        "Ohio's bald eagle population continues to expand throughout the
state," said Mark Shieldcastle, a biologist with the Division of
Wildlife. "Last fall's mild temperatures made eagle viewing excellent
this year.  Open water has held Ohio birds, while an abundance of
habitat has made it difficult to locate them."
        Bald eagles were observed in 53 of Ohio's 88 counties during
this year's survey, conducted January 2-15. Sandusky, Ottawa, Erie,
Trumbull and Wyandot counties, along the western Lake Erie shore,
continued to report the largest number of eagles. Sandusky County had
the greatest number of sightings with 69 birds.  
        Good concentrations of bald eagles were also sighted around the
mouth of the Sandusky River, and along the Kokosing, Scioto, Grand and
Muskingum rivers. The southern-most locations in the state to report
bald eagle sightings were in Brown, Clermont, Scioto and Hamilton
counties along the Ohio River.  
        State wildlife officials and volunteers conduct the mid-winter
survey each January as part of a national effort coordinated by the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service. The survey documents trends in wintering
populations of eagles in the lower 48 states, including both the bald
and golden eagles.  
        Although rarely seen in Ohio, three golden eagles (one adult and
two immature) were spotted this year. The number of sightings could
increase as the golden eagle population grows in the eastern Arctic, and
as a successful reintroduction effort in Georgia and Tennessee expands. 
        The annual eagle assessment includes both a standardized aerial
survey and ground observations. 
        Eagles were recorded in the following counties: Adams-1,
Ashland- 4, Ashtabula-13, Belmont-1, Brown- 2, Clermont- 2, Columbiana-
2, Coshocton-12, Crawford- 8, Cuyahoga-10, Defiance- 5, Delaware-12,
Erie- 32, Fairfield-1, Geauga- 6, Guernsey-1, Hamilton-1, Hancock- 4,
Hardin- 2, Harrison- 7, Hocking- 3, Holmes- 5, Huron- 2, Jefferson- 2,
Knox-15, Lake- 9, Licking-7, Lorain-9, Lucas-16, Mahoning- 7, Marion- 8,
Mercer- 4, Morgan- 2, Morrow- 3, Muskingum-10, Ottawa- 48, Paulding-1,
Pickaway- 2, Pike-1, Portage-15, Putnam- 2, Richland-10, Ross- 8,
Sandusky- 69, Scioto- 2, Seneca-11, Summit-5, Trumbull-30, Tuscarawas-3,
Washington- 4, Wayne- 4, Wood-14, Wyandot- 23. 
        The state's bald eagle management program is funded by
contributions to the state income tax check-off program for Wildlife
Diversity and Endangered Species and by the sale of Ohio conservation
license plates, including both the bald eagle and cardinal plates.
Contributions to the check-off fund can be made by checking the
appropriate line on the state income tax form. Conservation license
plates can be purchased through a deputy registrar or by calling the
Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles at 1-888-PLATES3.

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