The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering removing the bald eagle from the list of threatened and endangered species. But the bird's resurgence has not made it less thrilling to spot one in the wild.

The bald eagle population in the lower 48 states has recovered from an estimated 417 nesting pairs in 1963 to the current estimated population of 7,066 breeding pairs, the wildlife agency says. The Fish and Wildlife Service recommends these places to catch a glimpse of them:

- Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, Seneca Falls, N.Y. -- fws.gov/r5mnwr/ -- where fledgling eagles have been spotted each spring for 14 of the last 18 years.

- Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, Basom, N.Y. (midway between Buffalo and Rochester) -- iroquoisnwr.fws.gov -- where eagles can be seen from February through August.

- Klamath Basin Refuges, Tulelake, Calif. -- fws.gov/klamathbasinrefuges/ -- which hosts the largest wintering concentration of bald eagles in the lower 48 states.

- Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge, Lorton, Va. -- refuges.fws.gov/profiles/index.cfm?id51610 -- 18 miles south of Washington, D.C., established in 1969 as a nesting and roosting habitat for bald eagles.

- Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge on Maryland's Eastern shore, where two eaglets were seen in a loblolly pine tree at the end of February. Check out "Eagle Cam" at friendsofblackwater.org/camcentral.html.

- Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge, Crystal River, Fla., where eagles can be seen hunting for fish October through April. Visitors can take boat tours, rent canoes or bring their own boats to see the birds from the river. See chassahowitzka.fws.gov/.

- Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge, Zimmerman, Minn. -- fws.gov/midwest/sherburne/ -- where eagles are most easily spotted in the spring but can be seen 11 months of the year.

- Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, Ridgefield, Wash. -- ridgefieldrefuges.fws.gov/ -- where four pair of eagles are known to nest, but more drop by to feed on river salmon.