Who Are You Calling Bald?
From a distance, the majestic bald eagle does indeed appear to be bald. In reality, this large raptor has white feathers on the head, neck, and tail. To early colonists the word "bald" meant white, not bare. In 1782, the US Congress selected the bald eagle as our national symbol.

Bringing Home The Dinner
Bald eagles are skilled predators over land and water. These diurnal hunters use their keen vision to spot prey two or three times farther away than people can see. After catching a meal, usually fish, eagles quickly kill the animal with their grasping feet and dagger-like talons. Flying to a favorite perch or lookout, eagles will use their sharply hooked beaks to snip and pluck the feathers or fur away. If the prey is a small animal, eagles will swallow it whole but they tear off mouth-sized chunks of larger food. Bones, feathers, and hair that cannot be easily digested are later regurgitated. These competent sea eagles are capable of spotting and snatching fish directly from the water's surface. Eagles are also scavengers that search the waterways and highways for dead carcasses. This method of finding food saves time and energy, and cleans the ecosystem all at the same time.

The Biggest Bed Around!
A bald eagle couple builds a nest a few feet below the top of a living tall tree or on a rocky outcrop. They choose an open site so they have a clear view of the neighborhood as well as an unobstructed flight pad. Eagles mate for life and will return to the same nest year after year, adding fresh sticks and greenery until the nest may weigh over a ton, stand 12 feet high, and measure eight feet across! Parent birds take turns incubating their clutch of one to three eggs and both adults feed and brood the eaglets until they are ready to fledge. During the years when prey is scarce, the largest chick may claim so much of the food that its siblings could perish. This may seem unfair but at least one strong eaglet will survive to grow up and join the population.

Conservation: There's Still Time
Bald eagles and other birds of prey face many perils. For nearly a century there was a bounty on eagles because they were unfairly blamed for killing livestock and competing with fishermen. In the 1940's the pesticide DDT decimated many eagle, osprey, and brown pelican populations. This chemical collected in their bodies after they ate contaminated fish. Although the insecticide did not always kill the birds, it caused them to lay thin-shelled eggs. The parents crushed the eggs during incubation. No eggs, no hatchlings, no birds for the future. Power lines, discarded fishing line, poison baited traps, vehicles, and destruction of mature trees and wetlands have also contributed to the eagles' decline. Since the United States' government banned DDT and passed protective wildlife laws, our national symbol has begun to recover. When people care, endangered species survive.

Bounty: a payment to encourage the destruction of undesirable animals

Contaminated: unfit for use because of the addition of unwanted materials

Regurgitate: to cough up incompletely digested food