The Conservancy has a longstanding partnership with the Institute for Wildlife Studies (IWS) that has reintroduced bald eagles to the skies above Catalina. DDT, a pesticide that was outlawed in 1972 was absorbed by the birds' major prey, fish, and then ingested by the eagles. It caused the eagles to lay eggs with weakened shells that cracked under the adults' weight during incubation. Without young eagles to replace older individuals, the Catalina Island population died out.
After two decades without an eagle sighting on Catalina Island, the Conservancy initially helped to fund the Bald Eagle Restoration Program in 1980. A new generation of adult eagles began laying eggs in Catalina nests in 1987, but the eggs all broke before hatching. Analyses showed that the eggs had record levels of DDT contamination, indicating that DDT was still in the environment.
.jpg)
As additional funding became available, the IWS took over the program and manages it today with the Conservany's support directed to providing a healthy ecosystem for the birds.
In 2020, seven pairs of Bald Eagles nested on Catalina Island and four chicks fledged. Eagles continue to breed and reproduce successfully around the Island.
See a live camera feed of the eagle nests!
|