2015 Nebraska Bald Eagle Nesting Report

The Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), a species once threatened with extinction, has increased throughout North America since the mid- to late 20th Century. In Nebraska, Bald Eagles bred historically, but were absent as a breeding species for most of the 20th Century. The first active successful modern Bald Eagle nest in Nebraska was near Valley, Douglas County, in 1991 (Farrar 1991). Since 1991, the number of Bald Eagle pairs nesting in Nebraska has increased (Jorgensen et al. 2010, 2011). In 2007, the Bald Eagle was removed from the federal list of threatened and endangered species. The following year it was removed from the Nebraska state list of threatened and endangered species. Even though Bald Eagle numbers have surpassed recovery goals, annual statewide nest monitoring has continued in Nebraska and is coordinated by the Nongame Bird Program at the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC). In this report we present results from the 2015 Bald Eagle nest monitoring in Nebraska