Bald eagles have made a major comeback in Pennsylvania

There are now so many bald eagles in Pennsylvania that state officials can't count them all on their own, and are enlisting residents to help them track the birds.

In 1983, bald eagles were considered threatened in the state, as there were only three nesting pairs in all of Pennsylvania. That number has increased steadily — there are at least 300 today — meaning "the population has expanded to a point where tracking individual nests is not feasible," ornithologist Sean Murphy of the Pennsylvania Game Commission told Trib Live.

Eagles nest between January and August, and Pennsylvania residents can report activity to the game commission online. In 2014, bald eagles were delisted as threatened in the state, although they are still protected under the U.S. Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. There has been a lot of nesting activity in Allegheny County, and bald eagles passing through from upstate New York and Canada also like the Pittsburgh area, Jim Bonner, executive director of the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania, told Trib Live. "They like to fish in our rivers, particularly around the dams with open water," he said. "It's a wonderful success story."

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