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Community Corner

Bald Eagle Thrives in Aberdeen

Competition within the species may prove a greater threat to the local bald eagle than man-made hazards.

Natural selection may be the biggest risk the bald eagle faces in Aberdeen, despite threats from man-made hazards.

Although a male bald eagle was killed by a train in Aberdeen earlier this month as it fed on a deer carcass, local experts agree that these deaths are uncommon.

“There have been very few rail strikes,” said Craig Koppie, a regional eagle director with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “The railroads need to know that if a carcass is on the tracks, legally, they must remove it quickly. They have to account for eagle strikes.”

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Aberdeen's eagle population has thrived since 1982, when the first mated pair since the late 1970s returned to the area. During the 1960s and 1970s, DDT impeded eagle reproduction and reduced the Aberdeen eagle numbers to nearly nothing.

The recovery of the American bald eagle has been slow but certain on a national scale. Bald eagles were removed from the endangered species list in 2007.

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“There are at least 50 nested pairs in Aberdeen, as of 2010,” said Leo Miranda-Castro, supervisor of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Chesapeake Bay Field Office. “We have an extremely healthy eagle population, maybe even a crowded one.”

Koppie said Aberdeen's rivers and forested areas make it ideal for eagle fishing and nesting. Experts agree greater eagle numbers have already led to competition between the birds of prey.

“Homeowners have called local law enforcement about eagles falling from the sky during fights," Koppie said. "It's not uncommon to see even a golden eagle sitting atop a carcass."

Species competition aside, hazards remain few for the Aberdeen eagle, thanks partly to the continuing efforts of Aberdeen Proving Ground staff.

“Aberdeen Proving Ground changed their layout to be environmentally friendly,” Miranda-Castro said.

Aberdeen Proving Ground adheres to guidelines laid down by the Endangered Species Act -- and go beyond. Experts agree APG has done far more than what the government has asked the U.S. Army post to do.

“They have such a large habitat for eagles and they've managed it so well,” Koppie said. “Nobody could do a better job.”

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