According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Bald Eagle Population Size 2020 Update report, there are 71,400 eagle nesting pairs across the Lower 48 states—twice the number of eagle nests in the USFWS 2009 report. The higher number reflects the conservation success and continuing recovery of Bald Eagles since the 1960s, and also a more accurate estimate made possible by an innovative collaboration with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Prior to 2009, the USFWS used a compilation of state surveys to estimate Bald Eagle population in the Lower 48 States. In 2009, the USFWS conducted its first national Bald Eagle survey as part of the post-ESA delisting program. For this 2020 report, the Cornell Lab Center for Avian Population Studies combined USFWS aerial surveys with population distribution models created from eBird checklists by Cornell Lab data scientists to provide estimates of Bald Eagle abundance.
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