CENTER FOR         WILDLIFE             
REHABILITATION
AND                      
CONSERVATION  
EDUCATION          
ature's
ursery


This is a female bald eagle.
She developed her white head feathers in the spring of 2003
  • The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), our national bird, is the only eagle unique to North America. Adult eagles can weigh between 9 and 12 pounds with a wing span of 7 to 8 feet. Females are slightly larger than males.
  • Immature eagles are mottled brown and white. They don't develop their distinctive white head feathers until between 4 and 6 years of age.
  • Bald eagles live in trees 75 feet or higher.  They add to their nest continually.  Sometimes it can take a pair of eagles as long as six weeks to build their nest for the first time. The nest is made of sticks and lined with twigs and green grass.  The heaviest nest ever found was 2000 pounds!
  • Eagles mate for life.  The female may lay as many as three eggs.  If these eggs are destroyed the female may lay more eggs that year.  It takes four weeks for an eagle egg to hatch.  Eaglets grow slowly and need a large amount of food.
  • Bald Eagles normally eat fish.  Sometimes they will eat snakes, smaller birds, rodents, and other small animals such as rabbits. They have long sharp beaks and curved talons to help hold prey.  They can fly with 8 pounds of food.
  •  Eagles have great eyesight that helps them see for 1 to 1 1/2 miles away. They can dive at 100 miles per hour. Their eyesight and diving ability is essential to catch food.

 

 Additional information links:   http://www.baldeagleinfo.com/
http://endangered.fws.gov/i/B0H.html
http://www.baldeagles.org/baldeagl.htm
http://www.glifwc.org/pub/winter02/migizi.htm