In a conservation success, bald eagle populations in the lower 48 U.S. states have increased fourfold since 2009, according to a new population estimate.
The survey combined formal bird counts by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with the contributions of birdwatchers through a national database. The estimate found 316,000 bald eagles in the U.S. outside of Alaska.
The estimate does not include the much smaller eagle population in the Southwest, especially Arizona. The Arizona population of bald eagles remains on the endangered species list as a subpopulation, due to the limited number of breeding pairs.
However, the Arizona population has also grown steadily in the past 40 years and now includes 90 breeding pairs. That compares to just 11 pairs in 1978.