The Bald Eagle

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The Bald Eagle

• Michael Thomas

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Lets talk a little taxonomy!

• Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
• Subfamily Buteo..denoted by broad, rounded
  wings, heavy body, and broadly fanned tail.
• Also included are some of the hawks, (Red-Tailed,
  Broad Winged) and the Golden Eagle.
• Family Accipitridae.or Accipiters

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Biology and Life History

• Carnivorous
• Feeds mainly on fish, but will scavenge and take
  other prey, such as fawn deer or other birds

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• Can attain a wingspan of 90
• And a height of 42
• Adults can weigh between 25 and 30 pounds,
  although a slight percentage of females may get a
  little heavier (an Alaskan specimen weighed 32 ½
  pounds)
• Live 20-30 yrs.
• Can see 3-4 times better than people

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Reproduction

• Breeds at 4 yrs of age, but may be 5, when full
  adult plumage is reached.
• Mating occurs December through February, with
  eggs laid in late Feb. or early March.
• Male and Female both incubate
• Usually hatch in 34-36 days
• Young sprout feathers at 4-5 weeks, leave nest at
  9-12 weeks
• Mate for life, but if a partner dies, a new mate
  will be selected
• Mated pairs may not reproduce every year
• Have spiraling dance for courtship

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Nest Selection

• Nests are used year after year by breeding pairs
• The largest nest of any bird in North
  America.nests grows larger yearly with the
  addition of new material.may weigh hundreds of
  pounds..with nests up to 2 tons recorded
• Usually found in tall trees associated with
  shoreline, but will use cliff faces if
  appropriate ledges are available
• Are NOT tolerant of human activity
• Very territorial

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• Very few natural predators
• Large size and top of the food chain
• Man???
• Horned and Snowy owls may take some young birds

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Distribution
All of the continental U.S. and most of Canada,
ending southerly along the Rio Grande river In
Kentucky, most pairs nest along the Ohio and
Mississippi rivers. But some are located at Land
Between the Lakes, Rolling Fork River, Rough
River Lake, Yatesville Lake, and Laurel River
Lake Migrating Eagles are seen across the
state Are associated with wetlands because
riverine, lucastrine, and palustrine systems have
proven to be the primary habitat selected for
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Migration
Interior continental eagles migrate south to the
central and southern U.S. Coastal and Great
Lakes eagles usually do not migrate.more feeding
capability due to no ice-up
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Threats

• MAN!!!
• Shooting takes em out1000 a bird
• Habitat loss..lets build some condos and a golf
  course
• Chemicals..pretty apples
• Disturbance..dang tourists

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What seems to have been the problem?

• First survey conducted in 1963 to assess the
  population. Why so long??
• Revealed that there were less than 500 breeding
  pairs left in the wild.
• Lacey Act
• Migratory Bird Treaty Act
• Bald Eagle Protection Act

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Things were lookin grim!!
1978- listed as endangered in 48
states Threatened in five (Wisconsin, Minnesota,
Michigan, Washington, and Oregon) Less than 250
territories were identified in 1977 DDT was
the chemical of choice for Agriculture and had
been for a decade
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Restoration Efforts Began

• The U.S.F.W.S. initiated Eagle recovery measures
• With E.S.A. comes habitat acquisition
• Habitat protection.anywhere they build a nest
  is pretty much now a sanctuary
• Total protection?? That sure is a pretty
  head-dress there chief.
• Established recovery regions..

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Recovery Regions and their goals
Chesapeake recovery region 300-400 nesting pairs
w/1.1 young per pair for 5 years Northern
recovery region 1200 breeding territories w/1.0
ypp Pacific recovery region 800 breeding
territories w/1.0 ypp Southeast recovery region
600-800 nesting pairs w/1.1 ypp Southwest
recovery region 300-400 nesting pairs w/1.0 ypp
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Did the protection and mgt. work?
2239 breeding pairs in 1987 2680 in 1989 3747
in 1992 4712 in 1995 Iowa had 35 pairs in 1995
compared to 1 in 1985
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Things are lookin better!!!
All goals were met in 1992 The Bald Eagle was
de-listed to Threatened status Aug. 12
1995 5500 breeding pairs at that
time Population steady or growing in all
recovery regions at the present.except for the
southwest
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• How could have restoration efforts been so
  successful?
• Politics
• Huge media campaign
• NPO involvement
• And this led to
• Ban on DDT and a closer look at other pesticides,
  fungicides, etc.
• Increased public awareness of endangered specie
  biology (Think about just how important the Bald
  Eagle may be in that respect alone)
• Increased biological awareness of the impacts of
  man-made chemicals

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Lets sum it up

• The Bald Eagle population is in much better shape
  than that of just a couple decades ago. (late
  70s)
• The plight of the Bald Eagle was very important
  in the fact that it awoke the public to the
  drastic effects of man on the planet (continental
  loss)

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Big Thanks To

• Google
• KDFWR AWAKE program
• Eaglesforever.com
• The Audubon Society

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Any Questions?