(Photo courtesy of Arizona Game and Fish Department)

Arizona is experiencing a bald eagle baby boom, year after year.

Arizona’s bald eagles have been busy. The iconic birds continue to break breeding records year after year. The Arizona Game and Fish Department says this year, the state’s bald eagle population broke records when it came to the number of breeding areas and number of eggs laid.

Most importantly, 78 baby eagles, known as eaglets, were hatched. Annual productivity records indicate the birds continue to flourish in the state. A Game and Fish spokesman said the department’s conservation efforts contributed to the species recovery.

Bald eagles were removed from the federal Endangered Species Act in 2007. Nationally, the birds remain protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.