The American bald eagle population has significantly increased from the first Earth Day in 1970 to this one in 2025. In the early 1970s, the population in the lower 48 United States was critically low, with only about 417 nesting pairs recorded in 1963, and numbers remained low into the 1970s. The banning of DDT in 1972, along with protections under the Endangered Species Act and other conservation efforts, led to a remarkable recovery. This growth reflects one of the most successful American conservation stories. (Earth Day source material courtesy Smithsonianmag.com and eagles.org)
Badger spotted and photographed the lone Bald Eagle in the wild while visiting friend Trent Dyar’s apiary on Easter Sunday in North Cove, North Carolina. An apiary is a place where beehives are kept and managed for the purpose of producing honey, beeswax, and other bee-related products, or for pollinating crops.
Photo Thomas Mabry (see camera details in article)
Through Trent’s efforts, aided by our friends at United Carolinas Cavalry, his apiary is recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Helene.
Watching progress made in so many areas through the resilience of the Appalachian spirit has been one of the great joys of my septuagenarian life so far.
Finally, there’s another story developing with Badger and the Dyar Bees. Stay tuned!
Photo Thomas Mabry using Canon EOS R7 camera with Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8L lens (handheld) at 200mm with adapter, ISO 100, f5, ev0 and shutter speed 1/1000 sec.
Thomas Mabry – Honey Badger Images Many of the HoneyBadgerImages are on display at instagram.com/honeybadgerimages.
