That enduring symbol of America, the bald eagle will be the guest of honor Friday at the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center.

Visitors will have the opportunity to see a bald eagle up close, when the National Bald Eagle Center at Wabasha sends two naturalists and the majestic bird to Austin.

The program begins 10:30 a.m. Friday in the Ruby Rupner Auditorium at the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center.

The program is offered free of charge under the auspices of the Ruby Rupner Memorial Program Series.

Seating is limited and interested visitors are asked to call the Nature Center at 437-7510 to ensure seating.

Larry Dolphin, naturalist and director of the Nature Center, is excited about the prospect of a bald eagle being shown to families and children.

The number of nests reported grew from 115 in 1970 to 700 by 2000 in Minnesota alone, according to Dolphin.

In the Continental United States, the numbers of nests grew from

600 to 5,748 by 1998.

"The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources had a goal of

300 pairs it wanted to reach by the year 2000 and by 1987 they had reached that goal," Dolphin said .

"The bald eagle has been removed from the endangered species list and its' comeback is a true success story in nature," he said.

Dolphin credits the bald eagle's survival to the banning of a dangerous chemical that affected the chemical metabolism in the raptors, causing a low survival rate of their eggs, when the egg shells easily cracked because of their thin membrane.

Everyone who sights a bald eagle soaring over a river or woodland remembers it. Even Dolphin, whose career has been spent observing nature.

"I saw my first bald eagle in 1973, when I was on a canoe trip in Wisconsin," said Dolphin. "In those days, they were very rare because of the impact of the chemical upon their species. If you saw a bald eagle anywhere, it was a very rare occurrence."

Today, that has changed and the National Bald Eagle Center at Wabasha is a mecca for both the raptors as well as those who appreciate their beauty and presence in nature.

According to Dolphin, the Chippewa River flows through Wabasha into the Mississippi River. The bald eagles nest over the winter near the Chippewa River and because of the open waters created at Wabasha it creates a friendly habitat and adequate food supply.

So successful is their recovery that bald eagles are moving further away from the largest waterways and wilderness areas to the Root, Zumbro and other rivers previously deemed unpopular for nesting.

Dolphin expects bald eagles to best near the Cedar River, too.

And, Dolphin said, the mortality rates of nesting pairs' offspring is higher in the new areas than in the remote wilderness areas.

In 1999, it was first proposed to take the American bald eagle off the endangered species list after confirmation of their comeback was made.

"We're seeing bald eagles in places we never expected to see them before," Dolphin said.

Lee Bonorden can be contacted at 434-2232 or by e-mail at :mailto:lee.bonorden@austindailyherald.com