Bald Eagles Flashcards
Are Bald Eagles bald?
No, they have 7,000 feathers on their bodies
Why are they called Bald Eagles?
Balde is the old English word for ‘white’. Later the ‘e’ was dropped.
What is the scientific name for a Bald Eagle?
Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Nickname for Bald Eagle
How fast can a Bald Eagle fly?
Bald Eagles can soar 30 mph using powerful wing-beats and can fly even faster when diving for prey (stoop). Bald Eagles can dive up to 100 mph,
How big do Bald Eagles get?
How long do Bald Eagles live?
Bald Eagles can live a long time. The oldest recorded bird in the wild was at least 38 years old when it was hit and killed by a car in New York in 2015. It had been banded in the same state in 1977.
What habitat do they live in?
Bald Eagles typically nest in forested areas adjacent to large bodies of water, staying away from heavily developed areas when possible. Bald Eagles are tolerant of human activity when feeding, and may congregate around fish processing plants, dumps, and below dams where fish concentrate. For perching, Bald Eagles prefer tall, mature coniferous or deciduous trees that afford a wide view of the surroundings. In winter, Bald Eagles can also be seen in dry, open uplands if there is access to open water for fishing.
What special adaptations do Bald Eagles have?
The term “eagle eye” refers to someone who sees exceptionally well. While we humans have 200,000 cones in our eyes to help us see in color, Bald Eagles have close to one million cones.
They also have two focal points that allow them to see in front of them, and at a 45-degree angle on either side of them…at the same time! As far as distance goes, eagles can see an animal the size of a rabbit running from three miles away.
Where are Bald Eagles found?
Bald Eagles are found from Alaska and Canada down into central Mexico.
What do Bald Eagles eat?
Fish of many kinds constitute the centerpiece of the Bald Eagle diet (common examples include salmon, herring, shad, and catfish), but these birds eat a wide variety of foods depending on what’s available. They eat birds, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates such as crabs, and mammals including rabbits and muskrats. They take their prey live, fresh, or as carrion. Bald Eagles sometimes gorge, ingesting a large amount of food and digesting it over several days. They can also survive fasting for many days, even weeks.
When do they hunt?
Diurnal (day time) hunters
Do they migrate?
At what age are Bald Eagles considered sexually mature?
Do Bald Eagles mate for life?
Yes. They will look for a new mate if one dies.
Where do Bald Eagles nest?
Bald Eagles build some of the largest of all bird nests—typically 5 to 6 feet in diameter and 2 to 4 feet tall and ranging in shape from cylindrical to conical to flat, depending on the supporting tree. Both sexes bring materials to the nest, but the female does most of the placement. They weave together sticks and fill in the cracks with softer material such as grass, moss, or cornstalks. The inside of the nest is lined first with lichen or other fine woody material, then with downy feathers and sometimes sprigs of greenery. Ground nests are built of whatever’s available, such as kelp and driftwood near coastal shorelines. Nests can take up to three months to build and may be reused (and added to) year after year.
How many eggs do they lay?
1 to 3
How long do Bald Eagles incubate eggs?
34-36 days
What are baby Bald Eagles called?
Eaglets
What age do Bald Eagles fledge?
What age do Bald Eagles leave their parents?
Immature Bald Eagles spend the first four years of their lives in nomadic exploration of vast territories and can fly hundreds of miles per day. Some young birds from Florida have wandered north as far as Michigan, and birds from California have reached Alaska.
At what age are Bald Eagles considered adults?
What are the major threats Bald Eagles face?
They are still vulnerable to environmental pollution, as evidenced by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska where an estimated 247 Bald Eagles died from oil exposure. Population levels in the Sound decreased by almost 4% the following year but the local population returned to pre-spill levels by 1995.
Are Bald Eagles endangered?
The Bald Eagle’s recovery is a spectacular conservation success story as numbers have increased by nearly 4% per year between 1966 and 2019, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Partners in Flight estimates the global breeding population at 200,000 but in 2021, the US Fish and Wildlife Service estimated that the total population in the Lower 48 (breeding adults and immatures) was more than 316,000. The species rates a 9 out of 20 on the Continental Concern Score, indicating a species of low conservation concern. Once abundant in North America, the species became rare in the mid-to-late 1900s—the victim of trapping, shooting, and poisoning as well as reproductive failures caused by pesticides. By 1978, the bird was listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act. Since 1980, gentler treatment by humans along with the banning of DDT (the bird’s main pesticide threat) have led to a dramatic resurgence. By the late 1990s, breeding populations of Bald Eagles could be found throughout most of North America. In June 2007, the bird’s recovery prompted its removal from the Endangered Species list. Continuing threats to Bald Eagle populations include lead poisoning from ammunition in shot prey, collisions with motor vehicles and stationary structures, and development-related destruction of shoreline nesting, perching, roosting and foraging habitats.
Name some fantastic facts
- Rather than do their own fishing, Bald Eagles often go after other creatures’ catches. A Bald Eagle will harass a hunting Osprey until the smaller raptor drops its prey in midair, where the eagle swoops it up. A Bald Eagle may even snatch a fish directly out of an Osprey’s talons. Fishing mammals (even people sometimes) can also lose prey to Bald Eagle piracy.
- Had Benjamin Franklin prevailed, the U.S. emblem might have been the Wild Turkey. In 1784, Franklin disparaged the national bird’s thieving tendencies and its vulnerability to harassment by small birds. “For my own part,” he wrote, “I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly. … Besides he is a rank Coward: The little king bird not bigger than a Sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the District.”
- The largest Bald Eagle nest on record, in St. Petersburg, Florida, was 2.9 meters in diameter and 6.1 meters tall. Another famous nest—in Vermilion, Ohio—was shaped like a wine glass and weighed almost two metric tons. It was used for 34 years until the tree blew down.
- Bald Eagles occasionally hunt cooperatively, with one individual flushing prey towards another.
- Vocalizations: An eagle’s call is quite distinctive, ranging from a short staccato note, a whining call, and a high-pitched scream of descending notes. Vocalizations serve several purposes including greeting, solicitation, territorial defense, threat, and begging calls for food (juveniles). The call you hear on TV and movies is the RTHA
What is Sonora’s Story?
Sonora Arrived at liberty as a nestling in the Spring of 2007.
She and her nest mate were attacked by killer bees. Sonora bailed out of the nest, breaking her wing. Her sibling did not survive the attack.
AZ Game and Fish transported her to Liberty.
She has some scar tissue on her left eye from the attack and her wing healed sufficiently for short flights, but not enough to survive in the wild.
What is Aurora’s Story?
Aurora was the only one of 3 eaglets from a nest in WI that fledged. While a nestling a stick punctured her left eye, and she fell from the nest.
Her parents fed her for four days before nest watchers rescued her July 8, 2002, taking her to Wind River Wildlife Rehabilitation Center.
Due to loss of vision in her left eye, she was unable to develop the necessary depth perception
to survive in the wild and was transferred to rehabilitator Randie
Segal.
In 2011 citing health reasons, Aurora and her permit were transferred to Liberty,
What Laddie’s Story?
December 2014, Laddie was brought to Liberty by Arizona Game and Fish with severe injuries to her left wing after being
pulled from the nest by a Golden Eagle.
The marauding eagle was
unable to carry her and dropped her, damaging her wing in the fall. She had received a blood transfusion prior to her arrival and a second one at Liberty with Lady Liberty being the donor.
Although surgery was performed, the injuries were too severe
for surgical repair. The wing healed but the damage limited
Laddie’s ability to fly. She joined the other non-releasable eagles
in the education team, showing a fondness for her donor, Lady Liberty.
What is Cochise’s Story?
In his home in Wyoming in 2013, Cochise was found as an immature eagle being fed by the staff at a fishery. He was taken to a rehabilitation center where the medical staff
could find no injuries or disabilities. He was released from
their care and shortly thereafter was found again at a different fishery being fed by the folks there. Determining that Cochise was habituated and would not survive on his own, he was eventually transferred to Liberty Wildlife in
February 2017 to become part of the eagle team.
What is Maverick’s Story?
What is Paco’s Story?
Paco was brought to Liberty in April 2014 as a nestling that
had been blown out of its nest near Horseshoe Lake. Once
stabilized, Paco underwent surgery to repair his wing. Due to
the site of the fracture to the elbow, once healed he was
unable to extend his wing to allow full flight. He could not
be released back into the wild and has become a young
addition to our educational Bald Eagles.
What is Maverick’s story?
Maverick arrived in June 2017 as a 5-week-old nestling, having been blown out of the
nest by high winds. He suffered a dislocated elbow and possible internal injuries.
Surgery was not an option for the wing injury as a result of its location. It was
realigned and a splint applied. After healing, the wing did not have full extension, limiting his flight ability. Additionally, he tested positive for aspergillus, for which he
was treated.
Periodic testing and possible treatment would be necessary throughout his life. For these reasons, he was determined to be unreleasable and transferred to the
education team.
What is Siska’s story?
