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In a midwinter bird count conducted by several agencies around the state in December, 652 bald eagles were spotted, compared with 601 last year.
Barry Lowes, midwinter count coordinator for Hilton Head Island's Audubon Society, said successful nesting pairs have led to 16 eagles counted in December.
"They're very fussy about nesting sites," Lowes said. "Our eagles are lucky because they have lots to eat. They can make a good living over any decent-size body of water."
The national symbol -- once nearly wiped out in the lower 48 states by pesticide poisoning -- has rebounded in South Carolina from as few as 13 breeding pairs in the 1960s to about 300 breeding pairs today.
The highest count of pairs was 500 by the Audubon Society before the collapse of the species. Nationwide, the bird has recovered so well it's been removed from the federal Endangered Species List and has become a conservation icon.
But bird watchers in South Carolina say the species' population might be at or near its peak.
Jim Elliott, director of the International Center for Birds of Prey rehabilitation facility in Awendaw, said the annual increases can't be expected to continue.
"It's a question purely of habitat. It's just not reasonable to expect to get to those (Audubon) numbers," he said. "Sustaining (the current population) is going to be hard enough."
Ken Scott, compiler of the Fripp Island Audubon Society's Christmas Bird Count, said juvenile bald eagles get driven away within a year of birth by their parents to find their own nest sites.
"The more stable sites -- like here on the coast, with little human interference -- have probably reached their carrying capacity," Scott said. "But now you'll see the younger birds moving farther inland to find a suitable nesting site near a large body of water."
But because the bird is so territorial, those suitable sites will become harder to find.
Every year, Elliott's center treats bald eagles with puncture wounds from battles with other eagles. Elliott has watched the birds lock talons overhead.
"They define their territories visually. If an eagle can see another eagle, they're trespassing," he said. "That kind of space just isn't as available as it once was."
One wild card in the raptor's future is its increasing ability to adapt in developed areas. Long considered to nest only in high, standing trees, the eagles made nests in knocked-over trees in Cape Romain after Hurricane Hugo wiped out the forest, Elliott said.
"They're doing their part to make the changes they need to," Elliott said. "It doesn't mean they're bomb-proof, but they are adaptable."
Ron Kinlaw, conservation law enforcement officer at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, said the island has two nests with eggs, one near the Parris Island bridge on Goat Island and one adjacent to the Beaufort River on Gibbs Island. The birds typically nest in mid-December, and the eggs hatch after about 35 days.
"The nesting pairs always return to the same nest year after year," Kinlaw said. "The (Goat Island) pair have been nesting together for about 10 years."
Scott said that out of the 13 bald eagles on Fripp Island, six are adults and seven are immature.
"This is good because it shows it's a viable, healthy breeding population," he said.
Lowes hopes the bald eagle continues to thrive in Beaufort County.
"As long as the food supply lasts and the territories are available, they should stick around," Lowes said.
Bo Peterson of The (Charleston) Post and Courier and Island Packet staff writer Cassie Foss contributed to this story.
