(La Porte County, IN) - The comeback of the Bald Eagle in Indiana and across the nation also seems evident in La Porte County.

 

There have been numerous sightings of Bald Eagles in La Porte County in recent years in areas like the Kingsbury Fish & Wildlife area where La Porte resident Mike Kellems was eyeing a Bald Eagle’s nest this morning.

 

Kellems said the large nest is in a tree across from a creek on the east side of the nature preserve. He was hoping to take pictures of the Bald Eagles but, unfortunately, they were away from the nest and never returned while he was there.

 

Kellems said he has taken pictures of the Bald Eagles in the past when they were at the nest.

 

“It’s an impressive site to see,” he said.

 

Kellems, who’s into photography as a hobby and professionally, said he has taken pictures of other Bald Eagles near Michigan City High School.

 

He’s also aware of other Bald Eagles’ nests closer to the Town of Kingsbury, in the Pine Lake area near La Porte and in the vicinity of Indiana 39 and Indiana 8 in the far southern part of La Porte County.

 

“It’s a beautiful and an unbelievably majestic bird," Kellems said.

 

In 1985, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources began reintroducing Bald Eagles from Alaska and Wisconsin to the state.  By 2020, there were about 350 Bald Eagle nesting territories in Indiana and they were present in 88 of the state’s 92 counties.

 

Bald Eagles are no longer an endangered species.

 

In 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated there were over 70,000 breeding pairs in the lower 48 states.  There were only about 400 nesting pairs in 1963, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

 

(photos courtesy of Mike Kellems)