277.  That’s how many bald eagle nests there are in Pennsylvania this year. What an improvement since the time when there were only 3 nests back in 1983!

As the PA Game Commission explains:

“So far this year, 277 bald-eagle nests have been documented in Pennsylvania, with nesting eagles present in at least 58 of the state’s 67 counties.  That shatters the 2014 preliminary number of 254 nests, which also was an all-time high. And more nests remain to be counted as the year goes on.”

The count will go up, not because bald eagles are building new nests in July, but because observers will report additional nests in the days ahead.

Many people don’t realize that the nest count starts over every year. Nests that are used year after year must be reported again to be included in the count.

Patti Barber, a biologist with the Game Commission’s Endangered and Nongame Birds section, says, “Even if nests are well known locally, please don’t hesitate to report them. You might be adding a new nest to the list, or making certain that one reported in a previous year is accurately counted this year.”

It’s easy to report a nest. Just email the Game Commission at pgccomments@pa.gov with “Eagle Nest Information” in the subject line, or phone it in to your Game Commission Region Office or the Harrisburg headquarters.

Perhaps your report will help bald eagles break the 300 mark.

(photo of a bald eagle at Hays by Dana Nesiti)

p.s. Peregrine falcons are rare compared to bald eagles. There are only 45 peregrine nests statewide this year.