KENTUCKY (FOX 56) — The national bird and symbol of America is starting to call eastern Kentucky home, according to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.

Avian biologists began surveying one of three Kentucky regions searching for active bald eagle nests in 2021, fish and wildlife officials confirmed in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

Survey data from eastern Kentucky indicates that there was a 20% increase in the number of recorded eagle nests from 2022 to 2025. Specifically, the number of nests rose from 34 in 2022 to 41 in 2025.

Since 2007, bald eagle numbers have increased in western, central, and eastern Kentucky. There were 48 total nests recorded across the three regions in 2007, with 246 recorded in 2024 and 2025.

"Bald eagles have come a long way since their nu

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