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Details about:
Bald
Eagle
in Canada & Alaska (USA) |
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 The
Bald
Eagle
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. |
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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 have open water and provide good potential
feeding sources. Like the Bald Eagle in the photo,
they primarily feed on fish, using their powerful
eyesight to spot surface feeding fish. 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.
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!
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 &
Canada, has seen an incredible rebound of Bald Eagle
numbers with estimates in excess of 120,000 birds in
the US alone. In 1995 they were officially removed
from the Endangered Species List. |
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