Katelyn Wilburn, Campus Carrier staff writer

Berry’s bald eagles are predicted to not lay eggs this year, an unusual phenomenon compared to previous years. Although some might be scared this could relate to the notorious avian flu, the natural life cycle of eagles reassures us that this is likely not the problem.  

Berry College’s Eagle FAQ page says, “The eagles were first spotted on the main campus in March 2012.” Ever since then, they have been a part of Berry as a whole.         An entire community had been built around these birds, even with a Facebook group named “B3 Branch Buddies – Berry College Eagles.” This group is built up of alumni, students and anyone interested in watching these creatures.  

Since 2013, these birds have been recorded to lay eggs every year, though some years they did not hatch. According to Berry’s Eagle FAQ, eggs were laid Dec. 13 and Dec. 16 in 2022 for the 2023 season. One eaglet – titled B16 – hatched on Jan. 21, 2023, but the second egg never hatched. B16 fledged on May 21, 2023.

This 2024-2025 season has been slightly different than the past ones, leaving the community concerned for the birds. Jan. 22 was the last update about the eagles specifically. 

“It’s not uncommon for eagles to miss a year of egg laying,” Christopher Mowry, professor of biology, said. “In fact, they might still lay eggs. Eggs laying along Bald Eagle populations is sort of latitudinal. Those at southern latitudes, you know, closer to the equator lay eggs earlier in the season, and as you move north, you know, farther away from the equator, eagles will lay later.”

Mowry said that avian flu reaching our bald eagles is a possibility, but is not necessarily the main cause of this. Looking back at the 1940s, there was a pesticide developed called dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT). These were used to treat mosquitoes, but unfortunately, would work their way up the food chain to bald eagles, accumulating these toxic chemicals into their diet and therefore their body.  

“That was interfering with egg production, [because] they were producing eggs that had shells that were weak,” Mowry said. The problem is that the chicks were not hatching properly because [of] the shells.” 

According to the article “DDT – A Brief History and Status” from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the EPA issued a cancellation order for DDT in 1972 based on its adverse environmental effects, such as those to wildlife, as well as its potential human health risks.

In current times, eagles have been doing much better with the prohibition of these chemicals, but with President Trump’s funding cuts for environmental protection agencies, there might be a risk of other harmful products entering at an increasing rate.  

“These are all federal agencies that are tasked with keeping us healthy and safe, and they are being gutted by the current administration,” Mowry said.

Mowry said that for regulations to be enforced, we need to pay a decent amount to the people enforcing them. Keeping all living organisms healthy and safe is a costly but important goal.  

Understanding that eagles can often skip a year or two from laying eggs, the chance of laying this year being on the negative side is deemed normal. Although many issues could affect our eagles, even students are curious of the natural circumstances that could cause our bald eagles to be this way.  

“I remember hearing about the Eagle Cam in an environmental science class and in ecology class,” Sophomore Savonnah Mitchell said. “I would be curious to see if this is common. Has this been a pattern over the years? Did they lay a lot of eggs last year?”

Though unusual, the Berry eagles remain a staple of the campus and Berry’s image. The Eagle Cam can be found on the Berry website.