Abundant water makes St. Johns County one of Florida's best locales for nesting
An American bald eagle is the size of a small toddler, has a wing span of six feet plus and sports a distinctive white feathered head.
Easy to spot, in other words.
But 50 years ago you would have been hard pressed to see even one. That's because the bald eagle was dying out -- the victim of diminishing habitat, no legal protection and a chemical known as DDT.
In 1963, there were fewer than 500 breeding pairs of eagles in the U.S., according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Today there are around 10,000 pairs in the 48 continental states.