Bald Eagle Information

Essential Bald Eagle information and quick facts can be found on a number of web sites, in books and magazines. It’s important to know about the feeding habits, preferred habitat and life cycle of these birds to preserve their population. In the middle of the 20th century they were close to extinction because of human ignorance and lack of scientific information.

Bald Eagles may have numbered half a million before the arrival of European settlers to the New World. They inhabited the vast area throughout the territory of the present-day USA. Lack of reliable Bald Eagle information made people think that these large birds competed with them for food and posed a threat to the cattle. Farmers, hunters and fishermen killed Bald Eagles in large numbers. Only in Alaska about 100,000 Bald Eagles were killed in the 20th century.

Bald Eagle information obtained by scientists showed that these birds are not strong enough to kill domestic stock. Their main food is fish. To survive, a Bald Eagle has to hunt for most part of the day. Only about 5% of Bald Eagle attacks are successful; they often stay hungry for several days and may even die of starvation. The amount of fish taken by Bald Eagles is very small compared to fishing and poaching of humans.

Bald Eagle information helped preserve these birds when in the 1960s they died in large numbers because of poisoning with DDT and other chemicals. Scientists found out that pesticides and other chemicals people use in agriculture accumulate in the species at the top of the food chain. Bald Eagles and other raptors consume contaminated fish, mice, rabbits and carrion and get poisoned more rapidly than herbivores species. Chemicals harm both adult birds and their eggs. After DDT and some other poisonous agents have been banned in the USA, the Bald Eagle population has recovered.

Nowadays, Bald Eagles are protected by the law, but they are poached for their feathers and talons. Some birds are killed by electrocution when landing on power poles. Bald Eagles suffer from lead poisoning after eating the killed or wounded game. Young eaglets that are inexperienced in hunting get poisoned by eating carcasses of poisoned animals. Many Bald Eagles die because of collisions with vehicles. Obtaining more Bald Eagle information will help preserve the symbol of the USA for future generations.