UPDATE / THE AMERICAN EAGLE : National Symbol Competes for a Home by the Seashore

Fourteen miles from the White House, in a nest the size of a Volkswagen perched high in the crotch of a sycamore tree, two fledgling bald eagles herald the return to health of the national symbol.

Once endangered and feared headed for extinction, there are now estimated to be at least 2,660 nesting pairs of bald eagles in the Lower 48 states, including a pair now raising two fledglings in a nest overlooking the Potomac River on the Virginia shore just north of here. The eagle nest, visible from a state park across the river in Maryland, has become a popular sight for Washington-area nature lovers, school groups and tourists.

A generation ago, contamination by the pesticide DDT, which weakens the shells of eagle eggs, had reduced the number of eagles in the Lower 48 to roughly 400 nesting pairs. The 1972 federal ban on DDT has led to a steady increase in the eagle population, enough so that the federal government is now considering moving the bird from its list of endangered species to the less dramatic, but still serious, status of a “threatened” species. The federal Fish and Wildlife Service is taking public comments on the proposal, but no action is likely before next year.

Changing the eagle’s status from endangered to threatened would not end federal programs to protect the species, but some environmental groups believe the move could reduce public support for measures needed to preserve the birds.

The biggest threat to eagle recovery now comes not from pesticides but from development that threatens to disrupt eagle habitats, environmentalists note. Nesting eagles are easily disturbed by people venturing too near their nests. Because their diet is heavily dependent on fish, the birds prefer to nest near water, and coastal development has destroyed many prime eagle habitats nationwide.