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The southern bald eagle ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus leucocephalus ) 

 was once very abundant in the Chesapeake Bay region. In 1936 there 

 were over 250 active nests throughout the Delaware, Virginia and 

 Maryland areas. Today, around 90 nests, not all active in any given 

 year, can be found in the same area. Not only have the number of 

 nesting eagles declined but there has been a shift from the upper parts 

 of rivers and the northern part of the Bay to the estuarine segments 

 of the rivers and the southern bay. Despite pesticide-induced shell 

 thinning (recorded for a number of birds of prey including fish 

 predators such as the cormorant and brown pelican), the major cause 

 of eagle mortality continues to be shooting, pollution of feeding 

 areas, and loss of habitat to various forms of development).' Even 

 though the eagle population has declined by at least 60% in the 

 last 10 years, the Chesapeake Bay region is the most productive area 

 north of Florida for southern subspecies of bald eagle. The prognosis 

 is not good, however, since the reproductive rate, 5-35%, is 

 considerably below that necessary for a stable population. 



The DelMarVa fox squirrel, also known as the Bryant fox squirrel 

 ( Sciurus niger cinereus ) , is a subspecies of the more widespread 

 eastern fox squirrel. Never very abundant or widespread in its range, 

 the DelMarVa fox squirrel is confined today to four eastern shore 

 counties in Maryland: Kent, Queen Anne, Talbot, and Dorchester. The 

 population apparently lies somewhere between 500 and 1500 individuals. 

 Although protected in Maryland since 1971, this species is easily 

 confused with the more abundant eastern gray squirrel Sciurus 



