Two bald eagles at a nest along the Dulles corridor have been named in honor of civil rights leaders Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., after a contest by kids in Loudoun County public schools .
The winning names, Rosa and Martin, were selected from entries made by students at Sterling Middle School. The students at the school will get bracelets with the eagles’ names on them.
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Kids get chance to help name two bald eagles nesting along the Dulles Greenway in Virginia
The naming contest was run by TRIP II, the owner and operator of Dulles Greenway, a private toll road that connects the Dulles and Leesburg areas. About 9,000 students entered.
Officials with the Dulles Greenway said Rosa had laid two eggs in the nest last week. They expect the first eaglet to hatch in early March.
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Eagles have been nesting in the Leesburg area since 2005, and officials last fall put in live cameras on a tree overlooking their nest to watch them.
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In the past few years, bald eagles have made a comeback both nationally and in the D.C. region.
In the 1960s, there were only 400 breeding pairs left in the Lower 48 states. But bans on pesticides and the passage of the Endangered Species Act in the 1970s helped stop their decline, according to Dan Rauch, a D.C. wildlife biologist.
Eagles were also helped by efforts to improve habitat, cleaner air and water initiatives, and protections in areas where they live. Adaptation has helped, too.
“They are adapting to nesting and breeding in areas of high human activity. You can now find nests next to highways, on cell towers and in some backyards,” Rauch said.
Bald eagles were removed from the endangered species list in 2007. The country’s national bird, they remain protected under several federal laws.
In the D.C. area, there are 15 to 20 active bald eagle nests, Rauch said. The nests, found based on aerial and ground surveys, are between Mount Vernon and the upper Anacostia River, he said.