Bald Eagles: A Conservation Success Story in New Hampshire
For decades, NH Audubon has led the way in the conservation and recovery of Bald Eagle populations in New Hampshire. Beginning in 1989, when a pair of Bald Eagles successfully fledged the first chick in the state in 40 years, NH Audubon has worked continuously to increase breeding success of this species across New Hampshire. From one nesting pair in 1989, to over 120 in 2025, Bald Eagles are a conservation success story thanks to the work of NH Audubon, state and federal partners, and perhaps most importantly, volunteers who have dedicated countless hours to monitoring our state’s Bald Eagle population for 30+ years.
For details on current Bald Eagle monitoring see the training information on the new NestStory method, below.
Project Leader: Mickayla Johnston
Bald Eagles in NH
Bald Eagle project leader Chris Martin holding a banded Bald Eagle chick in Orford. Photo by Judy Lombardi.
In the late 1980s, NH Audubon launched a comprehensive monitoring program to track Bald Eagle recovery in New Hampshire, including spring/summer nest productivity surveys and statewide winter roost counts, which have been supported by decades of volunteer observations. These data have guided management decisions and documented steady population growth.
NHFG Conservation Officer Austin Valladares, Wildlife Rehabilitator Maria Colby, and Bald Eagle project leader Chris Martin releasing a rehabilitated Bald Eagle in Pittsburg.
In addition to extensive productivity data collection, NH Audubon has collaborated with NH Fish & Game to provide technical assistance to private landowners on how to best manage Bald Eagle nests on their property. NH Audubon also works closely with wildlife rehabilitators and veterinary clinics to rehabilitate and release injured eagles back into the wild.
A Conservation Success Story
Cumulative Bald Eagle productivity in NH.
With decades of volunteer-collected data, NH Audubon has been able to show the consistent increase of breeding Bald Eagles in the state. Bald Eagles were removed from New Hampshire’s state endangered species list in 2017, and population numbers have continued to steadily grow since then, with more than 120 breeding pairs and 94 active nests in 2025. With the hard work of volunteers, NH Audubon, and dozens of state and federal partners, Bald Eagle populations in the state have successfully recovered—this achievement stands as one of New Hampshire’s most significant conservation success stories. Importantly, this work has shown that with the proper protections, management, and monitoring, a species can be brought back from the brink of extinction to a recovered, healthy population.
Bald Eagle breeding pairs in NH from 1988-2025.
As NH Audubon advances its conservation mission, the remarkable recovery of Bald Eagles in NH is a testament to decades of dedication from volunteers, partners, and staff. This success means that the intensive monitoring that was once essential is no longer as critical as it once was, allowing us to scale back these efforts and focus our attention on other declining species.
Moving Forward: How You Can Support Our Evolving Bald Eagle Monitoring Efforts
With our successfully increasing population of Bald Eagles, we are scaling back the once-critical monitoring efforts in the state. This change may feel bittersweet for those who have invested so much time and passion into the recovery of an iconic species. The contributions of volunteers have made this conservation success story possible, and NH Audubon is deeply grateful.
Looking ahead, our focus must shift to species facing urgent conservation challenges. By redirecting resources and energy, we can create new success stories together, ensuring that the same commitment that brought Bald Eagles back from the brink can endure, safeguarding other species now at risk.
The Backyard Winter Bird Survey (BWBS) and Christmas Bird Count (CBC) are established participatory science initiatives that provide Bald Eagle winter population estimates closely mirroring the data collected during Winter Roost Surveys.
Still, while Bald Eagle numbers continue to increase, up-to-date population estimates remain valuable information to have—to track population growth and to enable wildlife managers to quickly identify impacts of emerging threats. So, how can you continue to contribute Bald Eagle monitoring data for NH Audubon? Beginning in 2026, there will be two key ways:
Participatory Science Initiatives
Decades of data show that data collected on Bald Eagles during the two-day Backyard Winter Bird Survey and annual Christmas Bird Counts closely follow the trend of the larger, more labor-intensive historic Winter Roost Surveys. NH Audubon can therefore use these data collected as a part of larger surveying projects to track Bald Eagle population trends as large-scale monitoring efforts are scaled back. By participating in these community science initiatives, you are helping NH Audubon to gather important data and understand population trends for many species, including Bald Eagles. Learn more and participate by following the links above.
NestStory
It is important to us that we provide a way for our skilled and dedicated Bald Eagle volunteers to continue to contribute valuable productivity data from their favorite Bald Eagle nest sites. To streamline this process and allow our biologists to dedicate more time to at‑risk and declining species, Bald Eagle volunteer data collection will now be done using a new data collection system called NestStory. NestStory is an online web application that allows volunteers to collect and submit their Bald Eagle monitoring data in a consistent and efficient format to NH Audubon. NestStory compiles data in real-time, allowing NH Audubon biologists to track the status of Bald Eagle nests statewide as well as analyze and interpret data promptly. NestStory is easy to use and is designed to be user-friendly. It is also used by many other states for a variety of avian conservation programs, including the Bald Eagle conservation project in New Jersey.
These data will contribute to our long-term understanding of Bald Eagle productivity in New Hampshire, which, in combination with Backyard Winter Bird Survey and Christmas Bird Count data, will provide a robust and efficient means through which Bald Eagle population trends can continue to be monitored.
Bald Eagle Volunteer Monitoring Using NestStory
Please join us on January 29, 2026 for a NestStory training webinar for all current and new Bald Eagle volunteer monitors. In this webinar, you will learn about this new system of Bald Eagle data collection. After this training, you will be ready to head into the field and begin documenting breeding activity using the updated protocols, ensuring that your observations contribute directly to long-term Bald Eagle population monitoring efforts.
This webinar will be recorded and made available here to view afterwards. All who register for the webinar will receive an email with the recording following the meeting, so feel free to register even if you cannot attend!
Please note that volunteers must be manually invited to NestStory by NH Audubon in order to have access to the New Hampshire Bald Eagle NestStory website for data collection. Email invitations to join NestStory will be sent to all current Bald Eagle volunteers on record after the NestStory training webinar on January 29th.If you are interested in volunteering or have any questions, please email Mickayla Johnston.
Below you will find an instructions manual for using NestStory to collect Bald Eagle monitoring data, as well as a quick-reference guide.
(by Chris Martin) 2025 Breeding Season Results In 2025, New Hampshire saw a 9% increase in the number of Bald Eagle territorial pairs. NH Audubon staff and many volunteer observers
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(by Chris Martin) On June 15, responding to a public report, NH Fish & Game conservation officer Austin Valladares picked up a young Bald Eagle on The Falls in the
(by Chris Martin) The 2024 New Hampshire Bald Eagle nesting season was hit by two major snow events (March 23 and April 5) that took place when eagle pairs were
(by Shelby Morelli) It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our cherished ambassador Bald Eagle. He was 36 years old and had been a vital part
