FINGER LAKES REGION, N.Y. -- Hidden away in the near silence of the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, lives the highest density of bald eagles in our region.

“It’s a special place for so many reasons, but also somewhere where eagles can find lots of things to eat and lots of nice big trees to nest in,” said NY Department of Environmental Conservation Senior Wildlife Biologist Jenny Landry about the refuge and the Finger Lakes region.

However, it hasn't always been like this. Landry said in the 1940’s the number of bald eagles started to decline. By 1960, there was only one known active bald eagle nest left in the state. Experts discovered the cause was pesticides, especially DDT, washing into the waterways.

“It did not kill the parent bird, but as a mother would incubate, sit on her eggs, they would just diminish because the shells thinned so much, they couldn’t take her doing her job,” Wild Wings Incorporated Educator Debra Clapp said.

With the banning of DDT, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and the bald eagle restoration program in 1976, which brought in dozens of bald eagles from places like Alaska, bald eagles in our 11 county region are soaring once again. The DEC’s Region 8 covers Chemung, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne and Yates counties.

“The numbers really increased from one active nest at that point, to now probably about close to 60,” Landry said. “There are still some nests we haven’t located this year, that we know we’ve seen eagle activity.”

Landry said the DEC has seen about a ten percent increase of bald eagles in the last decade. She said you can find at least one nest at every Finger Lake in our region except maybe Canadice Lake; a few on Hemlock Lake, Seneca Lake, and Canandaigua Lake. She also believes there is one on Honeoye Lake, but said they have not spotted it yet. She also said you can find them along Lake Ontario. An increase is expected to continue in the coming years.

“Unless other factors come into play that they’ll start occupying the habitat that exists because that will probably end up being the limiting factor because they are fish eating birds generally,” Landry said. “They eat all sorts of things as well, they are opportunists.”

At Wild Wings Incorporated in Mendon, where the nonprofit helps to educate people about birds and have even two rescued bald eagles of their own, Clap said she’s not only ecstatic about the comeback, but said it's extremely important for the ecosystem. 

“Bald eagles are the top of the food chain in their world...everything below them will pay a price if they’re all gone,” Clapp said. “They are fish eaters, but then they also eat mammals they also eat carcass if they need to scavenge in the winter and they are a priority animal for that reasons.”

With only a few other known threats, such as lead poisoning, habitat destruction, and being hit by vehicles, Landry and Clap can only hope the national bird will continue flying high.

Landry said if you do spot a nest let your local wildlife office or the DEC know. She also said if you see one, keep your distance. She said if they feel disturbed they will abandon their nests and this could impact any eggs they may have.

According to the DEC, a 2014 breeding survey found a total of 331 nesting territories in the state with 254 occupied pairs.