If you pull up a map of Pennsylvania, you’ll see a big hook-shaped reservoir that straddles the PA-OH border about 40 miles south of Lake Erie. It’s Pymatuning Lake/State Park and the lake covers more than 17,000 acres, is 16 miles long, 1.5 miles at its widest point and has about 70 miles of shoreline. About 1/4 of it is in Ohio.

My summer home is nearby and this is where we hunt, fish and boat.

The bald eagle has a major presence on the shores of the lake. There could be as many as 20 to 40 nesting pairs on the lake and all are potentially producing an average of two eaglets per year. They can have a life span of 30 years. Eagles were scarce here 20 years ago. Now, they seem to be everywhere. We often go boating after dinner to search for them. Last night, we covered four miles of southern shoreline and saw eight eagles. Three were adults and five were juveniles. We covered a different area last week and saw ten eagles. Six were adults and four were juveniles. We watch them snatch fish during the day but they mostly perch in the evening.

The lake is an ideal habitat for eagles. Lots of wooded shoreline with tall mature trees for nesting and a big lake for fish, gulls, ducks and geese.

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Here are two adults and their two fledged eaglets.

They like to perch in the tops of dead trees along the shore where they can easily see in all directions. It makes them easy to spot from a boat. They used to be very shy and would fly away when approached. Now, if approached slowly, they mostly just sit quietly looking at us as we look at them.