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Gov. Patrick bands eagle chicks at the Quabbin

Print | Comments () Posted by Martin Finucane May 24, 2011 02:25 PM

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Mark Wilson for The Boston Globe

Governor Deval Patrick reacted as he got whacked in the face by a flapping young bald eagle that he helped MassWildlife biologists band. At left, Ralph Taylor, a MassWildlife supervisor, helped Patrick get a grip on the bird. The eaglet was one of three banded from the same nest in a pine tree by Quabbin Reservoir.

By Glen Johnson, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick and state environmental officials today banded bald eagle chicks at the Quabbin Reservoir, perpetuating the state's bald eagle restoration program.

The Quabbin is one of 34 bald eagle breeding sites across Massachusetts.

"It’s great to see the bald eagle making such a strong, steady resurgence here," Patrick said in a statement.

The bald eagle restoration program is a joint effort of the Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, as well as the Department of Conservation and Recreation, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and private partners.

Bald eagles were put on the US Endangered Species List in 1973 after being victimized by habitat loss and reproductive failure linked to exposure to pesticides.

The birds have rebounded so much that the Fish and Wildlife Service removed them from the federal endangered list in July 2007.

In January, an annual one-day survey of wintering bald eagles conducted statewide yielded a record count of 107 eagles, up from eight birds counted in 1980.

Glen Johnson can be reached at johnson@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @globeglen.