After 8 months of careful observation of a bald eagle, I would have to say they are fascinating...your take?

Question

on these lovely birds?

I'm nearing the end of my job at a wildlife museum. I've watched the habits of one lone female eagle each evening for 8 months. Do you have any little known facts about the bald eagle?

Any general comments about the bald eagle?

Thanks

Answer 1

I love watching the eagles! I have been to the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, MN, several times. It's a great place to see the wintering eagles along the Mississippi, where the water remains unfrozen. If you are ever in the area, it is a must see! http://www.nationaleaglecenter.org/aboutUs.htm

Some interesting facts:

U.S.A.'S NATIONAL EMBLEM: The Bald Eagle was officially declared the National Emblem of the United States by the Second Continental Congress in 1782. It was selected by the U.S.A.'s founding fathers because it is a species unique to North America. Ben Franklin wanted the wild turkey to be the national bird, because he thought the eagle was of bad moral character. The Bald Eagle has since become the living symbol of the U.S.A.'s freedoms, spirit and pursuit of excellence. Its image and symbolism have played a significant role in American art, folklore, music and architecture. http://www.eagles.org/moreabout.html




The bald eagle's scientific name signifies a sea (halo) eagle (aeetos) with a white (leukos) head. At one time, the word "bald" meant "white," not hairless.

On June 28, 2007 the Interior Department took the American bald eagle off the Endangered Species List. The bald eagle will still be protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. The Bald Eagle Protection Act prohibits the take, transport, sale, barter, trade, import and export, and possession of eagles, making it illegal for anyone to collect eagles and eagle parts, nests, or eggs without a permit. Native Americans are able to possess these emblems which are traditional in their culture.

The PowerPoint presentation circulating the Internet is a myth and metaphor intended to encourage and strengthen people. Eagles do not go into seclusion, pluck out their feathers, beak and talons, and then after five months emerge renewed. It's a myth! An eagle's beak and talons grow continuously, because they are made of keratin, the same substance as our hair and fingernails. Eagles molt in patches, taking almost half a year to replace feathers, starting with the head and working downward. Not all feathers are replaced in a given molt. An eagle without feathers, talons, and a beak would die of starvation and exposure. http://www.baldeagleinfo.com/




They only live in trees 75 feet or higher. Bald Eagles add to their nest over and over. Sometimes it can take a pair of eagles as long as six weeks to build their nest for the first time. The eyrie is the large nest made of sticks and lined with twigs and green grass. The heaviest nest ever found is 1 ton. (That's 2000 pounds!)

They mate for life. The female may lay from one to three eggs and raises one brood (group) a year. If these eggs are destroyed the female may lay more eggs. It takes four weeks for an eagle egg to hatch. Eaglets grow slowly and need a large amount of food.

Bald Eagles normally eat fish. Sometimes they will eat snakes and smaller birds. They have long sharp beaks and curved talons to help hold prey. They can fly with 8 pounds of food. Bald Eagles help man by catching rodents and rabbits that destroy grain fields.

Eagles have great eyesight that helps them see for one to one and a half miles away. (Thus the term eagles eye) They can dive at 100 miles per hour. Their eyesight and diving ability help them catch food.

http://library.thinkquest.org/J002383/facts.htm




Bald Eagles occasionally hunt cooperatively, with one individual flushing prey towards another.


The immature Bald Eagle has a prolonged period of exploration lasting for four years. Some young from Florida have wandered north to Michigan, and birds from California have reached Alaska.
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Bald_Eagle_dtl.html

Answer 2

The soaring Bald Eagle is one of the most fasinating creatures on God's Earth. My Dad collects them. We are blessed in the best of the land, as we are able to see them often. I love them, and they symbolize so much. I am sorry that you will soon be unable to spend time with the Female Bald Eagle. Here is a site below that will tell you more. I once had somebody send me an e-mail showing the birth and days after the baby Bald Eagles and the way they were tended to gingerly by their parents. BEAUTIFUL!

Answer 3

I live on the edge of a river where there has been a nesting pair for the past 5 years. They have an unusual 3 hatchlings every Spring. I love to watch how the parents teach them to fly, how they scream out to each other. I love to see them standing on the ice in front of my house in the winter eating their catch. An unfortunate thing happened last year, one of the babies was found dead on the bank. The parents sat in a tree across the river from me and cried for three days. The fish and game people had come to remove the baby and to check for the cause of death but I never heard what happened. They are lovely and demand the respect of all creation when they fly. It is interesting how you will not hear the sound of a sparrow or see the tail flicker on a squirrel when an eagle is in the sky. There is a website that films the process of egg laying, hatching to full growth which is taken up river from us, you'd really enjoy watching it in the Spring:
http://www.neenergyinc.com/eagles/default.asp

Answer 4

Well, I dont know if this is appropriate but
I heard somewhere about the way they mate... I don't think it's true though. they say that they mate while flying...?
But other than that
I love bald eagles
I used to paint bald eagles many times
I love painting and bald eagles were one of my favorite things to paint

Answer 5

I love bald eagles. They look so brave and strong. And they are. I know they are very fascinating birds. I just love them.

I love to see them soar, and wish that I was up there with them, without a plane, or any machines.

Answer 6

in deed i have watched a pair of bald eagles for the past 3yrs up north from me and it is beautiful to watch them

Answer 7

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