American Bald Eagle (1970)

all right this is the Majestic bald eagle unique to North America its image is known throughout the world the bald eagle is the national bird of the United States emblem of the nation bald eagles were once abundant throughout most of the continent north of Mexico but their numbers have been greatly reduced as they have been forced to retreat from advancing civilization to their last refuges in Alaska western Canada and Florida although this is the United States national bird it is facing the possibility of Extinction conservationists have placed the bald eagle on the list of many endangered species are often found in Pine Wilderness such as this they build their nests 50 to 100 feet above the ground Eagles mate for life and usually return to the same tree each year unless they are Disturbed each year they add to the nest sometimes as much as two feet of new sticks and other materials the nests May reach five to six feet across and sometimes become huge structures ornithologists such as the legendary Eagleman Charles Broly have been studying these magnificent birds for many years during his 20 years of work Broly climbed some 800 of these tall nesting trees both in Florida and in his home province of Ontario Canada in order to reach the nests he first shot a fish line over a high branch to the end of the line he attached a rope with which he hauled his Ladder Up Broly was 58 when he began this work he was 74 years old when these pictures were taken Broly banded the Young Eagles in every tree that he climbed Broly's work gave to conservationists a much clearer understanding of the life of the bald eagle because of the bans Broly attached the later migrations of these Eagles could be traced but Broly never went near a nest until the young were four or five weeks old he knew that to approach while the adults were building The Nest or incubating the eggs might cause them to Desert the tree for good it was once generally believed that bald eagles were year-round residents of their nesting areas however Eagles banded in Florida have later been found over a wide area as far north as Prince Edward Island on the East and Manitoba on the west Northern birds from Ontario have turned up as far south as Tennessee and Alabama Eagles usually Nest near the water for the staple of their diet is fish occasionally an eagle will take a small mammal a straggler from a flock of birds or even carrying but fish is their most common food a fact which led to their being hunted in the past before 1962 Eagles were killed by the thousands in Alaska because they were mistakenly thought to diminish the supply of salmon because of their diet bald eagles are often mistaken for this bird the Osprey or Fishhawk which is common throughout most of the Eagles range but the Osprey fishes in a very different way diving straight into the water while the eagle Glides and snatches a fish from the surface hardly wetting its feathers this Osprey is typically colored much lighter than the eagle and the Osprey does not have the same pure white head and tail as the mature eagle another is Neighbors in the south is the Roseate spoonbill which nests in great Island colonies along with other birds spoonbills were once almost destroyed by feather Hunters but efforts at conservation have helped to increase their numbers especially here in Florida's Everglades National Park the man of war or frigate bird also shares the Eagle's Southern territory though it weighs only about three and a half pounds its wing spread May reach seven and a half feet so it has great speed and Grace fight the eagle the frigate bird takes its food from the water it seeks out surface-feeding fish and lifts them deftly from the water with its hooked beak hardly making a ripple these birds and many more live here in Everglades National Park there are dozens of Eagle nests on the small Mangrove Islands here and in Florida Bay but no more than one Nest to an island Eagles are very large birds often measuring three feet from beak to tail weighing 10 to 13 pounds with a wing spread of six to seven feet despite their great size Eagles lay rather small eggs about the size of a goose egg there are usually two eggs to a nest and they take about six weeks to hatch both parents share the task of incubation one standing guard or off searching for food while the other is on the nest for the first several weeks after hatching the male brings in most of the food but after that both parents must work hard to provide for the fast-growing eaglets from the time they start fixing their nest to the time that the young can care for themselves Eagles spend almost six months here as in most nests one eaglet is larger and more developed than the other and the larger youngster usually begins exercising for flight first but it is not until they are almost three months old that they are ready to leave the nest the wings of these youngsters are now almost fully grown but not yet strong enough for flight note the sharply defined primary feathers extending like fingers from the tip of each wing Young Eagles all have this black brown plumage until they are four years old when their beaks and eyes turn yellow and their heads and tails turn white but this first year of their lives will be the most dangerous of all partly because they are often shot by hunters who do not recognize them Eagles are protected by law throughout their range yet 96 percent of the Bands returned to Broly were taken from Birds killed or found dead within four months of the time they were banded many Eagles recently found dead have been killed by insecticides such as deodorant which are washed into the water by rainfall and build up in the fish which the eagles eat in Florida another danger is severe storms this Mangrove Island a year later looked like this the tree and Nest were completely demolished by a hurricane the island was covered with seaweed and debris another problem for many Eagles is the great horned owl fiercest and most powerful of all the owls this bird never builds its own nest preferring to take over the nest of an eagle or large Hawk it may arrive at the nesting area first or being a nocturnal bird it may also Drive the Eagles away at night but man himself still poses the greatest threat not only does he shoot Eagles illegally and poison their food supply with pesticides but year after year he builds over and develops thousands of Acres of age-old Waterside habitat destroying it for wildlife Southern Eagles along with other Florida birds are forced to retreat in search of new nesting sites only to be confronted Again by man leveling trees for roads airports and New Towns all living creatures are part of the ecological system which is essential to man's very survival but wild animals must have room to live when the natural habitat is destroyed the animals go with it some lumbering operations disrupt large areas which were once Lush Woodlands teeming with wildlife in Alaska there are still some 4 000 pairs of bald eagles but even here the habitat is being severely depleted by extensive lumbering operations the bald eagle ranges throughout much of this vast area from the treeless Aleutian Islands to the forested interior along the large glacial rivers that rushed down from the snow-capped Peaks thousands of eagles concentrate each fall Gathering From hundreds of miles around to feed on The Late runs of salmon they can be seen perched in the trees and Scattered along the gravel beds beside the streams where the salmon make their late runs while the Atlantic salmon lives to spawn several times all five species of the Pacific salmon die after spawning only once as soon as they have deposited their eggs their bodies are swept Downstream by the current and they become easy prey for the Eagles and other scavengers taking a fish on the wing is needless effort the Eagles simply weighed out in the water and pluck a fascias it drifts by in the spring when the Eagles are hatching their young they must occasionally take a live fish on its way Upstream but their food requirements then are minute compared to several weeks later when they're young are growing large by that time the early runs of salmon have finished their spawning and dying fish are available to satisfy the Eagle's needs for several decades a bounty was placed on the bald eagle in the mistaken belief that it drastically cut down the supply of salmon it is now recognized however that the vast majority of all salmon taken by Eagles are dying fish that have already spawned but these fall Gatherings Eagles May travel a hundred miles or more with their young to join in the feast along with great prongs of gulls Ravens and other scavengers golden eye scorp and mallard duck swim by or waddle Out Among the Eagles here such unlikely birds as magpies and Stellar Jays are almost under the feet of the great birds but a month from now when the rivers freeze over and fish are scarce all of these birds will avoid the eagles which then become hunters and beachcombers along the open Coastal Waters when fish and carrion cannot be found the Eagles may take small mammals but in Winter they concentrate on stragglers from the flocks of ducks that are here by eliminating sick and weak Birds Eagles and other Predators keep the flock in healthy condition and prevent starvation and disease not only are these Northern Eagles more numerous than their southern cousins but they are also considerably larger the high percentage of immature Birds found at these fall Gatherings is proof of the ideal nesting habitat found here in the vast Conifer forests of Alaska but the fact that Eagles can still be counted by the thousands here in the northwest is no reason to relax efforts to protect these birds once flights of passenger pigeons by the millions darkened North American Skies yet passenger pigeons like other species are extinct today the bald eagle king of American birds cannot survive without the help of every citizen this is the national bird of the United States and its numbers are decreasing without efforts to retain suitable habitats strict enforcement of protective laws and drastic reduction of the use of persistent pesticides Eagles May soon be gone from their last refuges chosen as a national emblem about 200 years ago the eagle emblazons coinage currency stamps proclamations and the national seal if it is to continue to spread its wings as a living symbol of Freedom Power and Independence it will only be with the Active Health of every American thank you