Bald Eagle

Welcome to this week’s Wildlife of the Week!

To celebrate Independence Day, our Wildlife of the Week is the nation’s symbol, the Bald Eagle. Despite this honor, bald eagles almost disappeared in the U.S. in the mid-1900s due to decades of sport hunting and habitat destruction and were declared an endangered species. DDT, a pesticide that became popular after World War II, also wreaked havoc on bald eagles that ate contaminated fish, weakening their eggshells so much they’d crack during incubation. In 1972, the U.S. banned DDT use and began intensive population management strategies that led to eagle recovery in the wild and their eventual removal from the Endangered Species List list in 2007. They have made a remarkable comeback and can now often be found in north Alabama, particularly on the refuge and at Lake Guntersville.

Our species this week is the Bald Eagle!

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

These large birds can weigh ten pounds or more and have a wingspan up to 80 inches. Bald eagles prefer wooded areas near rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water where they prey on fish, their main food source. Their diets also include birds, turtles, and small mammals such as squirrels and rabbits. They will also scavenge dead animals.

Like hawks, falcons, and other predatory birds, bald eagles are raptors and have a number of adaptations that make them built for the chase: large talons for killing and carrying prey, a large wingspan for conserving energy by soaring, and a dense coating of light-detecting cells on their retinas that helps then spot prey from up to a mile away.

Bald eagles are not born with their distinctive white head and tail; they reach maturity at four to five years when their feathers turn completely white. They breed in early spring and rear their young in the summer, after late spring hatching. Males and females bond by performing dance-like air displays in which a pair flies high into the sky, locks talons, does a cartwheel-like spin downward, and then breaks off right before hitting the ground.

Bald eagles can be spotted in various areas of the refuge, particularly White Springs and along the Tennessee River. They are often seen hunting the fields and water around the Observation Building.

(Photo by Tom Ress)