Did you know that the United States adopted the bald eagle as the national bird and symbol of the nation in 1782? Settlers arriving in America chose the name bald eagle, believing the bird was the common European Sea Eagle. No European has ever seen a bald eagle, as they were native only to North America. The scientific name of the bald eagle is Haliaetus leucocephalus, which actually translates from Latin and Greek into ?sea eagle with a white head.? We still call them sea eagles to this day.



The bald eagle is the only ?sea eagle? that is a native of North America. The bald eagle has a striking appearance, with its dark brown feathers set off by the stark white feathers of its tail and head. Many items, such as U.S. coins, flags, seals, and even buildings, have used the bald eagle's image as a symbol of the nation.

The powerful bald eagle is a type of raptor, as are hawks, vultures, falcons, and owls. Bald eagles live mainly on a diet of waterfowl and fish, but may also eat animals such as snakes, rodents, birds, and rabbits, and when these live specimens are not available they may also eat carrion.

Bald eagles are enormous and intimidating birds, with adults growing to 32 inches in length, with wingspans to 7 feet, and weighing up to 16 pounds.

Florida is the home of the smaller bald eagles, and Alaska is home to the larger ones. Wherever the bald eagle lives, the animals in the region scatter when the bird begins to land.

The area required for a pair of bald eagles to hunt in is large- anywhere from 2 to 15 square miles. A pair of bald eagles has only one nest, which they fiercely guard. On the eastern cost of Central Florida, the bald eagle may chase an Osprey along the Indian River lagoon in order to steal its catch. The eagle, unfussy about its meal, will eat the second hand catch when the Osprey drops it to get away from the pursuing eagle.

Bald eagles have a strong loyalty for their families, though they are actually birds of prey. Bald eagles keep the same mate for life, unlike most species of bird. Though most birds live a much shorter time, the bald eagle can live for as many as 25 years. The bald eagle can be found in many areas of North America, from Alaska, to Mexico, and all over the continental United States and Canada.

Even though these great travelers fly long distances to summer in the cooler weather of the northern United States and Canada, when it comes time to mate, they generally retrace their paths and nest within just a hundred or two miles from where they were hatched. When spring arrives, bald eagles of breeding age can lay between one and three eggs, which hatch in around 35 days. After three months in the nest, the baby bald eagles begin to fly, and a month later fly away from their mother for good. Almost 70% of young eagles will survive their first year of life, adapting to their environment despite the dangers of food shortages, bad weather, illnesses and toxic chemicals.

Did you know that the U.S. Congress tried to help the species by passing the Bald Eagle Protection Act in 1940? When this law passed, it became illegal to bother or disturb the birds. It also became illegal to take the birds, their nests, or their eggs for any purpose, such as selling, trading, owning, or exporting them. Taking an eagle included shooting at the birds, wounding them, trapping, capturing, disturbing them, or killing them in any manner.

The bald eagle began to die off due to pesticide overuse and DDT and other toxic chemicals. New laws and reintroduction programs for the bald eagle have given the birds a chance to survive. The bald eagle was so near to extinction that many thought it impossible to save the species.

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 allowed species that were small in numbers to be classified as threatened, and species with very low populations to be classified as endangered. The dramatic return of the bald eagle population removed it from most endangered species lists in the early 1990s.

The bald eagle was reclassified by Congress as threatened on August 11, 1995, after its numbers grew from 500 pairs in 1963 to 5,000 pairs in 1994. Because the number of bald eagles has increased, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has made pans for removing the bird from the list of endangered species.

Watching these magnificent birds is a pleasure. The long strides of the bald eagle as it launches leads into the soaring, slow motion movement of the bird in flight. The eagle stays fixed on its path, the prize kept firmly in sight. The skies of North America are increasingly filled with the majestic bald eagle. Take any opportunity to see these magnificent animals.