The bald eagle is finally making a comeback on Long Island.
An increased number of the endangered majestic bird are nesting and some have even settled around a Nassau County school.
The bald eagle – with its sharp talons and eight-foot wingspan – has not been seen on Long Island since about 1930. Nearly extinct due to DDT and hunting, this American symbol now has eight confirmed nesting pairs on the Island.
The first pair appeared five years ago on Gardiners Island.
Scott Crocoll, a biologist with the Department of Environmental Conservation, says, “It’s possible that some of these young birds may have been youngsters that came out of that Gardiners Island nest. It takes about five years for a bald eagle to reach maturity and start breeding so maybe a couple of them are from there, but where the other birds came from we really don’t know.”
One pair of nesting eagles was seen on the Great Neck South High School campus.