White-headed Sea Eagle
Today we're…in a parking lot behind a store? No, we aren’t lost. This week’s adventure is proof you can find amazing wildlife anywhere! Looking towards the line of trees straight out behind the store, and we can see a big dark mass in the middle of a tall pine tree, towering over the shorter ones. If you look very closely, you’ll just barely be able to make out a pretty well-known brown and white figure.
This week on the path!
It’s a nest of Bald Eagles!
As the national bird and a spiritual symbol for Native Americans before that, Bald Eagles are a huge icon in the United States. They are widespread across most of North America, but that wasn’t always the case for this majestic looking avian. In 1963, they were down to only 417 nesting pairs left due to illegal hunting, habitat loss, and the use of DDT in insecticides. Thankfully though, they made a comeback under the protection from the Endangered Species Act.
Adorably enough, it almost looks like this little one may be trying its best to look distinguished like mom, but it will have to wait for its namesake ‘bald’(white) head to complete the look—about 4-5 years actually. During that time, young bald eagles will go through a few appearance changes. They start from all dark like the little one in the picture here, then become mottled brown and white in varying degrees until they get their adult plumage around 5 years old; which is when they’ll also start looking for a mate of their own. In their juvenile years, they can be rather nomadic and may travel anywhere from less than a hundred miles from their home nest, to thousands of miles away from it.
When they do find a partner, they have a little bit of an adrenaline-pumping ‘dance’ they and some other raptors(birds of prey) often do for pair-bonding. A death-defying performance, talon-grappling is when they fly high and lock talons together, then dive quickly back down towards earth and separate as they get farther down. Bald eagles are known to pair up for life, even though they spend winters and migrations alone, they usually come back to the same nest with the same partner each year. Then they typically repeat the process for life, which can mean doing that for 20-30 years! The oldest known wild bald eagle was at least 38 years old, until it was hit and killed by a car.
So, how many times have you seen a bald eagle in a movie and heard a cool “screaming” call paired with it? Odds are, that call you’re hearing is actually that of a Red-tailed Hawk. Bald eagles actually make a much less distinguished squeaky call that sounds like it should be from a much smaller bird instead.
Where to find:
Bald eagles can be found across most of North America, but tend to stay near water where they can catch fish—or maybe harass other animals out of their catches.
Come nesting time, they prefer to pick a nesting spot ~50-125ft high in a tall tree where they can look out over their surroundings. Nests on average are around 4-10ft in diameter. The largest recorded was 10ft in diameter and 20ft tall, then another famous nest weighed over 2 tons and was in use for 34yrs before the tree blew down. While their nesting period varies depending on the latitudes they’re in, they’re usually all fully built and ready by February. After hatching, chicks spend 10-12 weeks in the nest until they’re ready to fledge. The females will usually spend the most time on the nest with the eggs or chicks once they hatch, while the male brings food back. That’s not to say that she won’t get away to stretch her wings while the male takes over for a bit though!
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Today's newsletter includes information referenced from National Park Service, TheCornellLab, National Wildlife Federation, Texas Parks and Wildlife, and Audubon.