Eagle Facts
Fascinating American Bald Eagle Facts
The national bird, the American bald eagle, is a symbol of freedom and dignity; but how many people know any other eagle facts besides its national status?
The American bald eagle is classified as a sea eagle, due to its preferred habitat proximity to the sea. Their diet is geared toward aquatic life such as either fresh or saltwater fish, but they will also feed upon rodents, snakes and smaller birds. Their long, curved talons are designed to snag and securely hold prey after swooping upon it and carrying it off before it feeds. The eagle is renowned for its superb eyesight, which enables the bird to spot fish in the water from several hundred feet above the water’s surface. One of the more unusual eagle facts of which many are unaware is that the eagle is a strong swimmer. Occasionally, an eagle will dive to the water and snatch a fish that is heavier than its normal 4 pound carrying capacity. When this happens and the eagle will not relinquish its hold due to hunger, the fish may drag the bird underwater. The bird is unable to fly again until it is out of the water.
Other eagle facts that surprise some people are in regard to their mating and nesting habits. Eagles mate for life; however, if one from a pair should die, the surviving eagle wastes no time in taking another mate. From their fourth year of life, eagles are able to breed although some mature eagles choose to delay the process; it is surmised they may be responding to a variety of reasons such as insufficient food sources, unavailability of nesting sites or weather conditions. After mating, the female will lay between one and three eggs over a period of days. For a little over a month, both mates will take turns sitting on the nest, although the majority of the brooding is done by the female. Here is one of the truly puzzling eagle facts; it is known that the male eagle delivers green sprigs of conifer branches to the nest on a regular basis, but why he does so is unknown. Both mates take on the role of protecting the eggs and the nest.
In the past, the number of American bald eagles had declined drastically to the point that in 1967 the bird was declared an endangered species. The decline had no distinct cause, although eagle facts from prior to that period showed that eagles living in Alaska were being killed since they competed with the fishing for salmon. Since 1967, awareness of the eagle’s plight increased, and the bird has fought its way back to a respectable population that upgraded its status to threatened, where it remains today.
Keeping the American bald eagle soaring through our skies is dependant on people learning basic eagle facts that will help them realize the bird has an important part in our country as our national bird.