Bald Eagles
Injury
The bald eagle is an abundant resident of marine and riverine shoreline
throughout the oil spill area. Following the oil spill, a total of 151 eagle carcasses was recovered from the
spill area. Prince William Sound provides year-round and seasonal habitat for about 6,000 bald eagles, and within
the sound it is estimated that about 250 bald eagles died as a result of the spill. There were no estimates of
mortality outside the sound, but there were deaths throughout the spill area. In addition to direct mortalities,
productivity was reduced in oiled areas of Prince William Sound in 1989.
Recovery Objective
Bald eagles will have recovered when their population and productivity (reproductive success) have returned to pre-spill levels.
Recovery Status
Productivity
(or reproductive success as measured by chicks per nest) was back to
normal in 1990 and 1991, and an aerial survey of adults in 1995
indicated that the population had returned to or exceeded its
prespill level in the sound.
In September 1996, the Trustee Council classified the bald eagle as RECOVERED from the effects of the oil spill.
View the Bald Eagle Restoration Notebook
Click HERE for more information on Trustee Council funded studies of Bald Eagles.