Bald Eagle Habitat
The preferred Bald Eagle habitat is sea costs, large rivers and lakes. The main food of these raptors is fish; occasionally they hunt waterfowl and small mammals. Bald Eagles build their nests on a top of a high tree or at a cliff. The same nest can be used for many years. A pair of Bald Eagles repairs the nest every spring, so after about 10 years it becomes very large. If you see a Bald Eagle nest, don’t come closer. A female eagle can be very aggressive when protecting the young. If you disturb a nest with Bald Eagle eggs, the parents may leave it and never get back again.
Bald Eagles need privacy and safety for nesting. It’s difficult to see them in natural Bald Eagle habitat. The largest population of Bald Eagles can be observed along large rivers and lakes in Alaska. This remote area is rich in salmon and other fish, which makes it easy for the Bald Eagles to raise their eaglets. These birds are not afraid of cold. They migrate southward only when the rivers are frozen over. Many eagles move to dams and seashores. Bald Eagles are able to fish in both fresh and salt water.
Much of the Bald Eagle habitat was destroyed by humans in the 19th and 20th centuries. Habitat destruction was not the main reason for the population decline. The main threats to the Bald Eagle were ignorance of people who killed these birds in large numbers and chemicals that caused diseases and slow death of eaglets and adult birds. Only effective conservation measures, such as banning the use of DDT and other pesticides, introducing new hunting regulations, and organizing reserves, preserved Bald Eagles up to nowadays.
Today, Bald Eagle habitat continues to decrease. Remaining populations suffer from human encroachment. People who come to watch Bald Eagles often disturb them. Only Alaskan population stays away from human activity and doesn’t feel the pressure of human presence. Bald Eagles are reintroduced to the areas from which they had disappeared, but only a few reintroduction programs are successful, because these birds cannot live in the close proximity to industrial and agricultural regions. It’s impossible to restore the original Bald Eagle habitat.
