The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act will continue to protect the bald eagle even as it stays off the endangered species list. The eagles also have the protection of the1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The act was passed to protect migratory birds, such as the bald eagle, in other countries that share birds with the U.S. due to migration. The treaty protects the eagles that fly into Mexico and Canada from being hunted, as well as making it illegal to sell the nests and feathers of bald eagles to buy or sell their eggs.

The 1972 ban on the use of DDT has also done much to protect bald eagles. DDT traveled up the food chain to the bald eagle, and other animals, causing a steep decline in the number of breeding pairs. The pesticide washed from the fields to the waterways and eventually into bald eagles. Eagles then caught the contaminated fish living in these waters. The affected eagles were unable to produce eggshells that were hard enough to keep from cracking before the incubation period was over. The reproduction of the species was severely hampered when eagles accidentally cracked their eggs while caring for them. Today the threat of DDT is largely over and bald eagles can catch fish, roam the skies and keep increasing their numbers.

Tags: eagles, birds, eagle

Eagles are not as fast as falcons but can fly 30 miles and hour and may reach 100 miles an hour in a dive for food. They prefer to fly low and catch fish near the surface but they will go into the water if they have to and use their wings to swim. When an eagle’s open talons hit prey, the talons snap closed and cannot be opened until the eagle touches down on a solid surface. The eagle is only successful in about one out of 20 attacks so hunting uses up a lot of the eagles energy. That is why eagles spend a lot of time resting.

The bald eagle is an opportunistic forager, taking whatever prey is available and easiest to hunt. This large raptor will even steal food from other raptors. Eagles frequently watch an Osprey and wait for just the right moment to attack and startle the Osprey into dropping its catch.

Eagles do not have to eat everyday and have a pouch in their esophagus, called a "crop," where they can store food. They fish in both salt and fresh water. They will also ingest small mammals and carrion (dead animals). Fox, young deer, and even geese in flight are hunted as well.

Because of their size, the bald eagle requires a large hunting area, varying from 1700 to 10,000 acres.

Although the eagle can adapt to the location where they decide to build a nest there are very similar traits in the trees they choose. The ideal tree for a bald eagle nest has a large crown or V shape to provide a lot of room to build the roomy nest. The bald eagle usually chooses the oak, hemlock, sycamore, pine or poplar tree. Typically the eagle builds the nest near the top of a tree that is somewhere between 50 and 150 feet tall. The perfect tree is almost always near the water.

The eagle chooses a high spot so that they can see everything going on around them. They spend most of their day waiting for prey to pass by so it is very important that have a good view of the surroundings. Since the bald eagle has very few predators they have the freedom to build their nests out in the open without concern for being preyed upon. Being in the open also gives them the space they need to take off and come in for a landing.

Once the perfect tree has been selected the bald eagle begins to gather materials. Sticks are the main building material used by the eagle and they range anywhere from 9 to 98 inches long and .12 to 2 inches in diameter. Like most birds, they gather what they can carry, place it in its position in the nest and then gather more. Both the female and the male gather materials for the nest.

The eagles form the nest by placing the stick in layers. They place the layers in the shape of a triangle and rotate the triangle for each layer. Smaller sticks are then woven in between and after many layers the nest begins to take shape. The completed nest is lined with grasses, pine needles, and moss. The final product may look a bit disheveled but it is very sturdy. In fact, it is so sturdy that it could support an adult human.

Sound of The Red Tailed Hawk:

Remember the 1990s TV show Northern Exposure?  Although Alaska boasts nearly half of the population of the world's bald eagles, and relatively very few red-tailed hawks, the producers of this popular television show decided to use the sound of the lesser species as its opening trademark.

Perhaps one reason that the sound of the bald eagle is not used in television and movies is that the bald eagle doesn't usually screech.  As a matter of fact, when you see a soaring bald eagle towering over a canyon, swooping toward some carrion or scavenging after the dropped fresh-catch of an Osprey, chances are you'll never hear it.  The sound of a bald eagle is more like a squeak than a screech.  Here's a sample of the sound of the bald eagle.

Sound of The Bald Eagle:

As for Alaskan bald eagles, during three days in February 2007 set aside for the general public to count birds that they see in their yard, over 1500 bald eagles visited neighborhoods around the state and were counted in the Great Backyard Bird Count, sponsored by Cornell University and the Audubon society.  If over 1500 bald eagles were in plain view, just imagine how many there are all over the great state of Alaska.  In fact, scientists estimate that there are nearly 325,000 bald eagles in The Last Frontier of Alaska.  Maybe with that many bald eagles flying overhead, we're better off that they don't screech!

Did you know that in the late 18th century, estimates of the continental US bald eagle population were upward of 50,000 breeding pairs? In the 1960's that number dwindled to around 420 pairs making extinction almost a reality. As a concerned nation, America studied where and how the animal lives. We began to understand what and who its natural predators are and we determined why they declined in large numbers in such a short period. The analyses ultimately lead to listing the bald eagle in the US Endangered Species Act in the spring of 1978. The Act provided public funds and guidance on how to reintroduce the animal and give them a chance to survive. By 2005, estimates for bald eagle population in the lower 48 states showed a dramatic rebound to slightly more than 5000 pairs. Add that to the nearly 17,000 pairs in Alaska and 10,000 pairs in Western Canada, and we see a thriving species. United States law has protected the bald eagle since 1940 and always will. However, in 1999, the US Fish and Wildlife Service began the process of removing the bald eagle from the endangered species list due to increasing numbers.

But how did the bald eagle go from the brink of extinction to the steadily growing numbers of today? Through education, compassion and action. Just after World War II, the widespread use of harmful chemicals such as DDT caused tremendous environmental damage. The pesticides were carried by rainwater into lakes and tributaries, absorbed by the plant life, ingested by the fish and other prey of the eagle. By following the trail of contamination, DDT, lead and other substances were linked to the declining numbers in several species including the bald eagle. Bird's reproductive systems were shutting down, as eggs were unable to hatch due to the contamination and a lack of nutrition. DDT was accumulating in the fatty tissue of adult female eagles virtually eliminating the calcium required for healthy eggshell formation. For the bald eagle, times were very lean indeed.

Another major cause in the decline in the number of bald eagles from the late 1700's to the late 1960's was perhaps far worse than chemical contamination. This cause was the human factor. Deforestation of their wintering and breeding nesting areas, urban development of the coastline, lakes and riverfronts and simply hunting bald eagles for sport left the eagles constantly on the move. Because bald eagles return home to breed, often only a hundred miles or so from where they were hatched, removing forests where large numbers of these birds first took flight no doubt caused many to abandon breeding at all.

Yet, beginning in the 1970's and continuing until now, federal, university and privately funded recovery operations have been succeeding in returning the bald eagle to its former glory days. More than $1 million US per year for more than a decade in public and private contributions went toward the recovery of the bald eagle. By the early 1990's things were beginning to pay off. How?

The US Wildlife Service established five major bald eagle recovery regions in the early 1980's. The Chesapeake Recovery Region encompasses the Virginia east of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Delaware, Maryland, the eastern half of Pennsylvania, the panhandle of West Virginia, and the southern two-thirds of New Jersey. The Pacific Region includes Idaho, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, Montana, and Wyoming. The Southeastern region includes Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and eastern Texas. The Southwestern region boasts Oklahoma and Texas west of the 100th meridian, New Mexico, Arizona, and the area of California bordering the Lower Colorado River. Finally, the Northern States include parts of 25 northern states from the Dakotas to New England. In every region, the reintroduction of the bald eagle has been a huge success with an average of 8 percent increase in population per year effectively doubling the population every 7 to 8 years for the last 30 years.

Yes, the recovery of the bald eagle has truly been remarkable. Through new laws, public awareness, the establishing of additional national preserves and the slow, steady flight of time, the bald eagle – an American symbol and treasure – is soon to be protected, but no longer endangered. What a testament to the efforts of the citizens of North America, the only home of the mighty Bald Eagle.

Metal Eagle Statue

Wildlife Ornaments

American Eagle Clock And Calendar