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| Photo by Shelley Conklin. January 20, 2020. TODAY! |
If you are a devotee of the bird world, this is big environmental news. And certainly it is a source of joy for me because Gatlinburg is my hometown.
Shelley Conklin has been keeping watch for a lone bald eagle that seems to have adopted the river near the entrance of the mountain resort. We first reported it here on November 20, 2018. (Click: hometown eagle)
Why is this big news? Nesting bald eagles had completely disappeared from Tennessee in the 1960s and 70s. There were no known successful eagle nests in the state between 1961 and 1983, a span of 22 years. Zero. With the banning of DDT in 1972 and protection afforded by the Endangered Species Act in 1978, bald eagles began to return to our skies but they needed help.
So what's new? Due to the efforts of TWRA, TVA and the American Eagle Foundation located in Pigeon Forge, bald eagles have made a robust comeback since their low ebb in Tennessee in the 1960s.
After an absence of over two decades, TWRA reports that the first successful bald eagle nest in our state was discovered near Dover in the spring of 1983. Since that initial lone nest, there are now over 200 nests statewide. So many in fact, they have become rather difficult to tally.
So what's new? Due to the efforts of TWRA, TVA and the American Eagle Foundation located in Pigeon Forge, bald eagles have made a robust comeback since their low ebb in Tennessee in the 1960s.
After an absence of over two decades, TWRA reports that the first successful bald eagle nest in our state was discovered near Dover in the spring of 1983. Since that initial lone nest, there are now over 200 nests statewide. So many in fact, they have become rather difficult to tally.
This is January. The time for bald eagles to renew their pair bonds or form new ones. So is that what Shelley's two eagles are doing? Shelley took the above photo just today!
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