But Watts and his colleague Mitchell Byrd say that's the wrong thing to do. The threatened status protects the birds from hunters and their nests from development. Eagles and humans are not very compatible. Without the federal protection, the number of eagles will again decline, they say. That's exactly the habitat the eagles need.
Eagles feed off fish, so they nest along shorelines.
Several of the eagles' nests on the Peninsula are on spacious government lands such as Langley Air Force Base and Cheatham Annex. Casual observers often overlook bald eagles because the feathers on the heads and tails of the otherwise brown birds turn white only after they reach adulthood at 4 or 5 years. Eagles are relatively easy to count and track because they are loyal and committed partners, returning to the same nest year after year. Hunters caused bald eagle populations to decline initially. But the numbers nose-dived after the chemical DDT was introduced to farmers as a means to help control pests.