Raptor Identification - Bald Eagle
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The following article about Bald Eagles was reproduced (with modifications) from the May 2000 issue of CPF's Talon Tales. The article was written by Marcel Gahbauer.
True to its scientific name, the bald eagle is often found along the coasts of oceans and large lakes, but it also breeds along the edges of wetlands, smaller lakes, and rivers. A pair will build a nest in an old tree near shore, often returning year after year and adding fresh nesting material each spring. Typically two large (76 mm) bluish-white eggs are laid each year, and often only the older chick will survive to fledge. This low reproductive rate is among the factors which has made the bald eagle vulnerable to population decline. Identification: By virtue of their size, subadult bald eagles can be confused only with golden eagles. In flight, they are easily distinguishable, as the bald eagle has prominent white axillar patches (the feathers at the base of the wing), whereas the golden eagle’s axillars are brown. When perched, the bald eagle has a more robust appearance overall; the slender neck of the golden eagle is often the most noticeable difference. Distribution and conservation: It has been estimated that prior to 1800, there were between 250 000 and 500 000 bald eagles in North America, breeding along major rivers and lakes from Alaska to Florida. From 1800 to 1940, bald eagles suffered a severe decline in numbers at the hands of humans. Hunting had a major impact on bald eagles, as many farmers believed they were a threat to their livestock, and shot eagles on sight. Even as late as the 1960s, bald and golden eagles were being killed in Texas at a rate of more than one thousand per year. Habitat loss through logging and increased recreational use of remote areas also reduced the available breeding habitat of bald eagles, which prefer undisturbed sites. Legislation was passed to protect the bald eagle in Canada. Canada (1936) and the USA (1940), but by the 1960s, the bald eagle was again in severe decline, this time due to DDT, which affected them in the same way as it did the peregrine falcon.
Further reading: Clark and Wheeler: A Field Guide to Hawks of North America (1987); Ehrlich, Dobkin, and Wheye: The birder’s handbook (1988); Austen, Cadman, and James: Ontario birds at risk (1994) |
© Canadian Peregrine Foundation