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Once On Brink Of Extinction, Biggest Breeding Season In Years For Bald Eagles On Channel Islands

(National Park Service photo)
A bald eagle in the Channel islands

It’s being called the most successful breeding season for bald eagles in the Channel Islands in decades. 24 bald eagle chicks fledged from nests on the island, the highest number since efforts to save the endangered birds began more than three decades ago.

The bald eagles were so close to extinction the few remaining birds in the wile were captured for a captive breeding program. Once the numbers were up, they were re-introduced into the wild.

This year, biologists say they were able to document 19 breeding pairs of bald eagles on the islands.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral. 
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