Allison Wood
The Gazette
For the first time anyone can remember, a pair of bald eagles has built a home in Medina County.
The eagles recently constructed a nest near the Chippewa Lake area, a sign they are ready to start a family. Although bald eagles have been seen throughout the county the last several years, this is the first time any eagles have built a nest, said Dan Bertsch, chief naturalist at the Medina County Park District’s Wolf Creek Environmental Center in Sharon Township. Ideally, eagles like places close to a body of water where there is plenty of fish and waterfowl.
It is important for people to keep their distance from the nest because they will abandon it if there are too many disturbances, Bertsch said. This happened a few years ago in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Brecksville. However, the eagles did return after new rules minimized distractions, he said.
“It’s like a mother protecting a child,†Bertsch said about keeping the nest’s exact location a secret.
If there are no problems, eagles will keep their nest in the same location for several seasons, he said.
Eagles typically lay two eggs at a time, but Bertsch said there can be as many as three. There is a 30-day incubation period where the female tends the eggs and the male brings her food. If the female has recently laid them, the eggs should hatch by early April.
Chippewa Lake resident Matt Platz, who frequently photographs the eagles, said he spotted the female eagle sitting low in the nest on Friday and recently photo-graphed the eagles near areas where the lake does not freeze because they are able to fish there.
A few eagle pairs have been spotted in the county in the last few years. A survey from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources shows four eagles were spotted in the winter of 2008 as part of its mid-winter tally.
Only eagles who have a mate build nests. When they are younger than 5 years old or without a mate, eagles have no set location and wander, Bertsch said.
“They will always be out by a body of water,†he said.
In 2006, eagle pairs were spotted in the Spencer Lake Wildlife Area in Spencer Township, and another pair was seen along Crow Creek in Litchfield Township, but they did not nest.
Last year, bald eagles were taken off the federal government’s threatened species list but are still considered a protected species.
Contact Allison Wood at (330) 721-4050 or allisonwood@ohio.net.
