Bald Eagles Bring People Together In Connecticut

03:45

July 23, 2013

Birdwatchers gather along an industrial stretch of Route 5 in Hamden, Conn. (Max Moran/WNPR)

After World War II, the population of American bald eagles was devastated by DDT — a pesticide that was put into heavy use to control mosquitoes and other insects.

A bald eagle adult and chick in a nest in Hamden, Conn. (Michael Lejeune/WNPR)

After DDT was banned in 1972, bald eagles rebounded from 417 breeding pairs in 1963 to more than 11,000 today in the lower 48 states.

Eagles were taken off the federal endangered species list in 2007, but they’re still considered "a species of concern" in many states. And in Connecticut, their status is “threatened," so sightings there are not all that common.

From the Here & Now Contributors Network, Diane Orson of WNPR brings us the story of one sighting in a busy Connecticut town.

WNPR: Bald Eagles' Nest Brings People Together

Reporter

Diane Orson, reporter and producer for WNPR/Connecticut Public Radio. She tweets @dorson1.

This segment aired on July 23, 2013.