American bald eagles are having a moment, ecologically and culturally

WEST ORANGE, N.J. (AP) — Along the long road from American icon to endangered species and back again, the bald eagle — the national bird of the United States, often seen against a clear blue sky — is having a moment.

The eagles find themselves in an environmental updraft of sorts since the early 2000s, when the federal government took the thriving birds off its endangered species list with more states following suit. Culturally, too, the animals are soaring.

In December, Joe Biden signed legislation making the raptor the country's national bird (thought that was already the case? More in a bit). This month, New Jersey became the latest state to delist the bald eagle as endangered, citing a remarkable comeback for the creatures associated with strength and independence — and that occupied just a single nest in the state decades ago. And to the chagrin or elation of football fans, the Philadelphia Eagles will be vying for a championship in the Super Bowl this weekend.

How did the storied birds find their way back? As with so many tales, it's complex.

Their well-being was intertwined with an insecticide

The story — there was a single nesting pair in New Jersey in the 1980s and roughly 300 now, for instance — centers on the banning of DDT, a chemical insecticide with environmental side effects that included thin-shelled eagle eggs. That touched off a cratering in the number of eagles across the country, and officials prohibited the pesticide in 1972.

To rebuild the birds' numbers in their historic range across the country, conservationists imported birds from places where their populations were stable, including from Canada. Early on, they also removed eggs from nesting birds' nests, replacing them with artificial ones for the eagles to “incubate” while the real eggs were safely hatched outside the nest before being returned, as eaglets for their parents to raise according to Kathy Clark, the head of New Jersey's Endangered and Nongame Species Program.

“They’re one of the few conservation success stories of animals that almost went extinct on our continent. And so I think now it’s really important to make sure people know that story and learn from it,” said Maia Edwards, the science director at the American Bald Eagle Foundation in Alaska.

Clark, whose work with the birds spans decades and includes the period when their numbers were so small they lived only in a remote part of the state, said the eagles have taught officials a number of lessons. One is that they're “fairly adaptable" and now live across densely populated (with people) New Jersey — from suburban Bergen County near New York to the wetlands along the shore in the south.

She recalled the story of one fledgling eagle in a suburban town — New York Giants territory, as it were, sorry, Eagles fans — that found itself on a backyard woodpile and walking around the street. Volunteer observers worried over the bird's well-being, given the realities of suburban living. But a year later, observers spotted the eagle, identified by a band. It had apparently made it.

“Those birds that, you know, have that tolerance to live like in such a densely human structured environment is something I have a hard time understanding,” she said. “They're Jersey birds. You got to have attitude, right?”

The birds do face dangers as they expand into suburbia, though. Jilian Fazio, director of the Essex County Turtle Back Zoo in suburban northern New Jersey, said the zoo rescues a number of birds hit by cars. One bird, a male named Freedom, perched atop a branch in his enclosure at the zoo recently and called out loudly. He was found dangling by a rope, left with an injury that renders him unreleasable, Fazio said.

There are threats, as well. Habitat preservation and clean, open water, since the eagles feed heavily on fish, is a worry, but there's also the current outbreak of avian influenza or bird flu. Clark says officials are going to maintain surveillance amid the outbreak.

A resurgence in popularity, too

Beyond the birds coming off endangered lists, they made headlines recently for finally getting their due as the county's national bird, an oversight left undone in law because the bald eagle was already on the national seal and many thought it already had that status, said Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who sponsored legislation that Biden signed last month.

She and colleagues worked with Native American and veterans groups to get buy-in for the legislation, she said, and it passed the typically divisive House and Senate last year with no dissent. The birds are revered in a number of Native American cultures as symbols of strength, particularly in the Pacific Northwest, according to Paul Apodaca, a retired academic who specializes in folklore and mythology.

The eagles' perch as symbols of the country contributes to their conservation, with experts considering them an “umbrella species,” whose need for large open spaces and waterways helps preserve lesser known wildlife.

“Americans are always going to have that sort of personal relationship with bald eagles," Clark said.

Experiencing seeing a bird in the wild or even as you're driving along a business-lined highway can leave an impression. Dan Day, a birder who's spotted bald eagles some 50 times in recent years both on nature walks and just driving around suburban New Jersey, remembered never having seen the birds as a kid growing up in Cleveland. Now a New Jersey resident and Philadelphia Eagles fan, he regularly goes out in his green “Birds” cap and binoculars.

“Just the mere thrill of seeing one — a lot of people just have never, ever looked at one,” he said. “It really elevates your day to see a bald eagle.”

Enjoy watching them, experts say, but give them space, too. Because rescuing animals threatened with extinction is expensive, uncertain work. Said Clark, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection official: “I don’t think I ever will lose that perspective of, of being on the brink there, not knowing if if you’re going to be able to save the species."