Birds' population keeps growing in state, region

Nine bald eagles were observed in Mahoning County and two in Columbiana.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources' latest annual bald eagle survey saw 554 of the birds this year including 24 in Trumbull County.
During the two-week, survey mid-winter survey, observers counted 329 mature bald eagles and 225 immature birds.
That compares to 366 bald eagles -- 247 mature and 199 immature -- spotted the previous year.
Sandusky County recorded the highest number at 98. Trumbull had 24; Mahoning County, nine, and Columbiana County, two.
"It's the sheer fact that the number of eagles we have are producing more fledglings each year that are reaching maturity," said Andrea Tibbels, a spokeswoman for ODNR's Division of Wildlife.
The agency doesn't release precise locations for the birds because it doesn't want them to be disturbed, she said.
But bald eagles have been spotted in Mill Creek Park's new wildlife sanctuary in Beaver Township.
Restoration project
The wildlife division says the increase is the result of a bald eagle restoration project started in 1979. At that time, there were only four pairs of bald eagles in the state compared to 15 pairs 20 years earlier.
A division of wildlife news release lists pesticides and loss of habitat as some reasons for the population decrease.
The division received eaglets from zoos and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, placing the young birds into the nests of eagles whose eggs hadn't hatched, the release says.
The division also launched a campaign to educate the public about the bird's importance.
In 1989, a four-year research project was started to follow the movements and habitat requirements of the young birds.
The increased growth in eagle nests throughout the state means more volunteers are needed this year to help the division monitor the birds' activities.
Training workshops will be Feb. 1 at Mosquito Creek Wildlife Area in northern Trumbull County; Jan. 29 at the Carroll Township Hall in Ottawa County; and Feb. 11 at the Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area in Marion and Wyandot counties. Call the division's Crane Creek Research Station at (419) 898-0960 for more information on the sessions.
Ohio'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 conservation license plates.
Contributions to the check-off fund may be made by checking the appropriate line on the 2005 Ohio state income tax form.