Two Bald Eagles Hatch on Catalina Island
Wed Apr 4, 8:43 AM ET

Two bald eagles have hatched in the wild on Santa Catalina Island for the first time since chemical contamination there wiped out the majestic birds decades ago, conservation officials said.

Biologists spotted the first eaglet Saturday and the second one Sunday, according to Catalina Island Conservancy officials. The eggs had been laid in a cliffside nest on the 76 square-mile island located off Los Angeles County.

"We were shouting and excited and happy when we got the news," said Ann M. Muscat, president and CEO of the Catalina Island Conservancy.

The chicks belong to an 8-year-old female and a 21-year-old male introduced under a program aimed at restoring the island's bald eagle population.

For nearly two decades, biologists have worked to get the adult eagles on Catalina to reproduce without human assistance after contamination from chemical dumping caused their eggs to weaken and dehydrate. The chemicals — DDT and PCBs — decimated the bald eagle population and damaged coastal fisheries and seabird populations.

The last time a bald eagle egg hatched in the wild there was in the 1940s, Muscat said.

More than 30 years after the dumping stopped, 20 bald eagles are regularly spotted on Santa Catalina, including five nesting pairs.

In the past, their eggs had been so fragile they had to be removed immediately by humans and incubated in captivity. The chicks were then returned to the nests by helicopter about 10 days after hatching, along with a shell from a goose egg to trick the parents.

After watching the contamination levels drop in recent years, conservation officials decided to try leaving eggs in their nests this year.

"We may have more good news next week," Muscat said. Another nest also contains eggs that are expected to hatch.

2 bald eagles hatch on Catalina Island - Yahoo! News

This undated image provided by Catalina Island Conservancy, Leslie Baer, shows eagle restoration project director Peter Sharpe of the Institute for Wildlife Studies using a puppet to work with eaglets, born in captivity but soon to be released into the wild, on Catalina Island, Calif.

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It's so great to see Bald Eagles on the comeback throughout the country. 10 years ago it was rare but possible to spot one around here. Now I can count on seeing one or more of them several times a year.

wonderful! Thanks, that's not too far from us and I hadn't heard anything about it here!

Catalina Island Eagle Update!!

Sun Apr 8, 5:03 PM ET

AVALON, Calif. - A bald eagle egg has hatched in the wild on Santa Catalina Island, only the third since chemical contamination there wiped out the iconic birds several decades ago, conservation officials said Sunday.

The eaglet emerged from its shell sometime late Friday or early Saturday, according to Catalina Island Conservancy officials. Its sex had yet to be determined.

The hatchling's egg was one of four laid last month on the east end of the 76-square-mile island located off the coast of Los Angeles County. Two hatched last week and the fourth could hatch at any time, officials said.

Their parents are a 15-year-old male and a 14-year-old female, both hatched in captivity.

Contamination from chemical dumping devastated the bald eagle population on Catalina and did tremendous damage to fish and seabird populations around the chain of eight Channel Islands off Southern California. The last bald eagle egg hatched in the wild on Catalina was in the 1940s, said Ann M. Muscat, president and CEO of the conservancy.

More than thirty years after the dumping stopped, there are now 23 bald eagles regularly on Santa Catalina, including five nesting pairs.

I am tickled to hear hear this!!! Great news.

Hey, maybe we should have a PC party for the locals (and semi locals) on Catalina to toast them. I am actually really excited, because I remember the days when all the birds' eggs were too thin. I still get pretty excited when I see a baby pelican too!

Wow that is a great article, hope all goes well for them!