Force of Nature

Written By: William McReynolds - Highlands Plateau Audubon Society | Issue: July 2024 | Photograph By: Ed Boos

There is nothing bald about the Bald Eagle, our national bird and symbol of strength and dignity.

The “bald” part of its name is taken from the Old English word balde meaning “white.” The Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is native to North America where it dwarfs all songbirds. Typically, they weigh nine pounds. and have wingspans over seven feet.

Imagine their surprise when the first British settlers encountered this colossus of the woods, native to the “New World.” The female is larger than the male by 25 percent with the same plumage. They have bright yellow beaks and legs, dark mottled body feathers, long white tail feathers and stunning, white-feathered heads.

Bald Eagles occupy the highest reaches of the forest and sky. They soar on broad, flat wings, catching thermal convection currents that hold them aloft effortlessly. They dive at speeds upwards of 100 miles per hour. They perch and nest in the tallest trees in the forest.

Their nests are huge. Both male and female build the nest which they might reuse over the years, adding new branches and soft material each year. As a result, their nests, built at dizzying heights, become massive, reaching weights of over one ton.

One to three eaglets occupy the nest for about 10 weeks before fledging. After fledging they linger around the natal nest for several weeks before launching independent lives in the forest. Maturity, breeding, and their own nest come four or five years later. They are known to live 20 years in the wild. In captivity one lived to 50.

Males court females with calls and flight displays. Courtship also involves chasing and acrobatic coupling not seen elsewhere in the avian world. The high-flying male and female, at apex, lock talons, facing each other, and go into a spectacular tumbling free fall that ends moments later with the ground rapidly approaching and the pair breaking off into flight at the last second. How’s that for forming a pair bond!

Bald Eagles were in steep decline in the 20th century until they were given protection. After DDT was implicated in eggshell failures among nesting birds and banned, eagles made rapid and full recoveries in some states. In 2007 they were removed from the official list of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife.

Today you can find Bald Eagles on the Plateau near large bodies of water and rivers. Imagine a large Bald, swooping down suddenly and catching a large fish in its able talons and just as suddenly flying away with a triumphant SCREEEEECH. Spectacular squared.

Happy July birding from the Highlands Plateau Audubon Society.