FORT COLLINS, Colo. - More than 300 bald eagle pairs are now nesting in Colorado, according to 2023 data being compiled by Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW). It's the highest total on record.
Colorado celebrates a historic milestone as bald eagle populations soar to their highest recorded numbers in 2024. Colorado's bald eagle population was hit hard by avian influenza in 2022, reducing the number of nests by about 20 percent. But now, the eagles have made a remarkable recovery.
After reaching near single-digit population numbers in the 1970s, Colorado's bald eagle population has rebounded following both natural recovery and targeted efforts to save the national bird. Alaska is the state with the most bald eagles in the USA, counting around 30,000 breeding pairs and a total population between 100,000 and 150,000. Most states monitor the number of bald eagle breeding pairs, but not a total population census that includes chicks and juveniles.
Bald eagles have been the national emblem for over two centuries. Bald eagles in Colorado have successfully rebounded from near extinction, now boasting over 300 active nests. Conservation efforts in the 1970s greatly aided their recovery, especially by banning DDT.
These majestic birds now thrive even in urban areas, attracting bird watchers, though ongoing habitat protection remains vital amidst urban growth. Colorado Parks and Wildlife said it has been studying the bald eagle population throughout Colorado and the country, noticing a steady increase. Since bald eagles are America's National Bird, the numerous natural lands in Colorado that provide habitat for them can be thought of as being especially patriotic.
These majestic birds are found throughout North America during specific times of the year. However, the areas in which bald eagles can live year-round and raise their young are much rarer in the United States, and Colorado. Northern Colorado's Front Range urban corridor (commonly referred to as simply the Front Range) is experiencing some of the fastest human population growth in the U.S.
(U.S. Census Bureau 2020), and state wildlife-management policies have changed to adapt to Bald Eagles nesting in urbanized settings (CPW 2020b). Eight of Colorado's 10 fastest growing counties are in the cor-ridor, their.
Bald eagles in Colorado A bald eagle soaring over a prairie dog town near Douglas County. Juvenile bald eagles can be difficult to identify because they lack the signature white head until they are full adults at about 5 years old.