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Page: The Bald Eagle
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Standing in the quiet and solitude of nature, you suddenly hear
a sound reminiscent of a squeaky clothesline. Looking up you see
a Bald Eagle soaring majestically as it rides the thermal
convection currents.
Standing up to 40” (100 cm) tall and with a wingspan extending
out to an incredible 8 ft (2.4 m), the Bald Eagle can attain
weights up to 15 lbs (7 kg). Unlike many other animals, the
female Bald Eagle is approximately 25% larger than her male
counterpart is.
As Bald Eagles mature, their speckled brown coloration turns to
a deep brown body with white head and tail feathers. The beak,
feet and irises (colored part of the eye) are a bright yellow
through their entire life.
During courting, Bald Eagles perform acrobatic dances in the
skies. The spectacle of chasing and down after each other is
topped only by the cartwheels they perform. Locking talons
together, a pair of Bald Eagles will free-fall and cartwheel to
the ground, releasing each other at the last possible moment
soaring over the ground and ascending to do it all over again.
Living for 20 – 30 years in the wild, they generally mate for
life and only search for a new mate of one of the birds goes
missing.
The Bald Eagle is the U.S. National Bird found from coast to
coast throughout North America and even in northern Mexico.
Primarily living near larger bodies of water, the Bald Eagle
prefers old-growth coniferous or hardwood forests. Ideally,
these forests should provide good roosting and perching
locations, areas to build their huge nests and be located near
water. These nests, built between the trunk and large branches,
have been measured up to 8 ft (2.4 m) in diameter and 13 ft (3.9
m) deep.
Bald Eagles are partially migratory, depending on their local
environment and home location. If the water freezes over,
preventing the Bald Eagle from being able to feed, it will
migrate to locations that hove open water and provide good
potential feeding sources. Like the Bald Eagle in the photo on
the Glacier Bay Puzzle, they primarily feed on fish, using their
powerful eyesight to spot surface feeding fish.
Masters of flight, bald eagles have superior aerial acrobatic
skills. Able to fly and glide at speeds up to 45 mph (70 km/h)
and, although they seldom dive vertically downwards, they can
achieve an incredible 100 mph (160 km/h) speed diving! While
flying high soaring on the winds currents, a Bald Eagle spots a
potential snack swimming in the water and makes a dive. By
side-slipping in flight a Bald Eagle immediately loses altitude,
swooping down with it’s feet clutched like a fist and, at the
very last minute, extending it’s talons to grab a fish swimming
just below the surface. If fish are unavailable, the Bald Eagle
will prey on other birds and waterfowl as well as small land
mammals.
During the 1950’s, the Bald Eagles’ future was in serious
threat. Several factors including thinning of the shells of the
eggs caused by DDT contamination in their food chain, illegal
hunting and loss of habitat due to human encroachment on their
territories, caused a plummet in Bald Eagle numbers. With only
412 mating pairs in the late 50’s, they were finally placed on
the Endangered Species List in 1967. Conservation efforts,
including the banning of DDT use in the USA, has seen an
incredible rebound of Bald Eagle numbers with estimates in
excess of 120,000 birds in the US. In 1995 they were officially
removed from the Endangered Species List.
Other pages with extensive details
on our website:
Gray Wolf,
Tufted Puffin,
Steller Sea Lions,
Bald Eagle,
Mountain Goats,
Orca or Killer
Whales,
The Red Squirrel,
Humpback Whale
and
Grizzly Bear or Alaskan Brown bear |
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