Game & Fish Seeks Bald Eagle Aerie Sightings

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota's Game and Fish Department is asking people to report nests where bald eagles are present.

Conservation biologist Sandra Johnson estimates there are about 150 active bald eagle nests in the state. That's about 125 more than there were 15 years ago, but Game and Fish is continuing to monitor the bird that once flirted with extinction.

Johnson says eagles are actively incubating eggs in March and April, and it's easy to distinguish an eagle nest by its enormous size. She says eagle nests historically were found along the Missouri River, but now they've been observed in more than half of the counties in the state.

Game and Fish is asking for reports of active nests — not individual eagle sightings. Observers are asked to not disturb the nests.