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Unusual Bald Eagle Nest Failures Raise Concerns for Research
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — May 26, 2026 — Researchers with the Wings Over Water Research Institute (WOWRI) have completed the first phase of bald eagle field work in the central Lower Peninsula of Michigan with troubling observations that suggest 2026 may be an unusually difficult year for the state’s eagle population.
Researchers conducting nest monitoring and sampling before Memorial Day weekend observed fewer nests with surviving eaglets than expected based on spring aerial surveys. Field crews found both empty nests and very young nestlings compared to prior years. Adult eagles were documented incubating eggs in late April and early May, another unusual observation. Both younger nestlings and incubating adults indicate a lot of second nesting attempts after earlier failures. Scientists also documented severely malnourished chicks, a dead nestling in one nest, and nests damaged or destroyed by severe wind events.
“Our initial impressions are that this is not a typical year,” said Dr. William Bowerman, a WOWRI-affiliated researcher and professor at the University of Maryland who has overseen Michigan bald eagle monitoring since 1985. “We are seeing widespread reproductive difficulties that appear linked to a combination of severe weather and limited food availability.”
Researchers believe many adult eagles may be struggling to find enough fish to successfully raise young. Crews also observed aggressive interactions among nestlings that could lead to siblicide — the killing of one chick by another — a behavior considered rare in bald eagles.
“The long winter, spring flooding, and repeated severe wind events likely created very challenging conditions for nesting eagles,” Bowerman said. “While each of these events can occur naturally, it is unusual to see them happening together and affecting nests across such a broad area.”
The observations underscore the importance of both aerial surveys and direct nest visits during the breeding season, researchers said. Without physically examining nests and nestlings, scientists would not detect many of the reproductive problems occurring within the population.
For the past two years, however, federal funding that historically supported aerial surveys and field work has not been available, limiting researchers’ ability to calculate productivity, which measures the number of young produced per nesting pair and is one of the most important measures of population health.
Researchers say the current challenges follow several years of significant stress on Michigan’s eagle population, including the 2022 outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza that resulted in the loss of more than 400 breeding pairs and an estimated 2,500 eagles statewide. Monitoring also documented extensive nest tree damage caused by a three-day freezing rain event in northern Michigan during 2025.
“Long-term monitoring is the only way we can understand how these major events are affecting the population over time,” said Jennifer Day, Executive Director of WOWRI. “Without consistent surveys and nest visits, we lose the ability to detect emerging problems before they become larger conservation issues.”
WOWRI researchers will continue nest visits throughout June in the northwestern Lower Peninsula, central Upper Peninsula and at Voyageurs National Park.
About Wings Over Water Research Institute
Founded in 2025, the Wings Over Water Research Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization advancing environmental science in the Great Lakes region. The organization conducts long-term monitoring of bald eagles and fish-eating waterbirds across the Great Lakes and beyond. Using these species as indicators of water quality, WOWRI supports scientific research, public outreach and educational programming to inform environmental management and cleanup decisions.
To learn more and financially support this work, visit wingsoverwaterri.org
Contact:
Jennifer Day, Executive Director / CEO WOWRI, 734-465-9505, jennifer@wingsoverwaterri.org
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