dedicated rescuers deserve all the credit as john blackstone now shows us. >> reporter: 22 miles across the sea from los angeles, catalina island has a reputation for romance. it's also the adopted home of the american bison. but another american icon that is native to catalina hasn't done as well. >> bald eagles. >> by the early to mid 60s they were all gone from catalina and the california channel islands. >> reporter: for 15 years peter sharp of the institute for wildlife studies has been working to bring bald eagles back to catalina, a project that lately has been having some notable success. >> we spend a lot of the early portion of the year scanning the coastlines for just any activity. >> reporter: to get an even closer look at the island's growing eagle population, sharpe has set up remote cameras looking into the nests. >> it saves us a lot of time. it gives us more information on what is going on at the nest.