COMMUNICATION

    BALD EAGLES communicate with each other vocally
    their calls are
    squeaks
    cackles
    squeals
    clucks
    clicks

    bald eagles are very quiet birds
    bald eagles do NOT scream or screech

    they have a rasping cackle
    sounds like the hiss of escaping steam with a " CAK " sound

    they also chatter to each other

    bald eagles communicate with displays of physical expression
    they touch each other .. beak to beak
    they touch each other .. talons to talons .. when they court each other during their mating time

    bald eagles are usually rather quiet

    bald eagles do call out to greet their mate and to greet their young

    bald eagles call out to other bald eagles to alert them of food during the winter

    bald eagles call out to warn of danger  ! ! !
 

    SPECIES  PERPETUATION

    BALD EAGLES ARE REPRODUCTIVELY MATURE AT 5 YEARS OF AGE

    most often young reproductively mature bald eagles looking for mates
    will select a widow or widower eagle who has lost his or her mate

    when a mate dies .. a bald eagle will find a mate the next year

    once a young eagle finds a mate he or she may return
    to their precise birthplace nest or their home nest area
    or
    to the home birth place of their new mate

    a young reproductively mature bald eagle will return to and utilize parent's nest
    only if parents are no longer living and therefore are no longer using their nest


    COURTSHIP
    BALD EAGLES MATE FOR LIFE   !!!!
    bald eagle pairs are together ALL the time
    they sit perched together a great deal of their time
    they touch their beaks together just as humans kiss

    as soon as 2 bald eagles form a mating breeding pair they begin a courtship period

    all mated life pairs engage in courtship period EVERY spring  !!!

    in the northern part of the range of bald eagles
    courtship mating period is from December - April
    babies are born in early spring

    in the southern part of the range of bald eagles .. that includes Florida ..
    courtship mating period is from September October November to April
    babies are born in late autumn

    babies are born at a time of the year that prevents them from being hatchlings
    during the high temperatures of summer

    the spring courtship period of bald eagles has ritual aerial displays
    the courtship period has distinct stages
    the bald eagle pair engage in multiple soaring displays
    in these soaring flights
    they circle around each other
    dive towards each other
    chase each other
    next ..
    the bald eagle pair
    dive beneath each other
    roll onto their backs
    extend their talons
    each touch the other's talons with their talons
    roll
    fly
    then ..
    the bald eagle pair
    fly high high high
    each swoop down upon the other
    and ..
    as they get ready to crash into each other
    they lock talons  .. extend wings .. and roll
    and ..
    they fall together in a spiral
    cartwheeling as they fall
    as they get close close close to the Earth
    they release each other
    then ..
    they REPEAT .. repeat .. repeat many more times ..


    after the courtship .. the pair mates

    the female is then ready to lay the eggs
    right before the egg is deposited the calcium layer is deposited onto the eggs and creates the shell
    the female mother bald eagle will lay  2 - 3   large white eggs into nest

    incubation period of eggs is about  35  days
    both mother and father bald eagle will incubate the eggs by sitting on them
    both male and female bald eagles have a brood patch on their abdomens  -  where they have no feathers
    this is to help keep the eggs warm
 
 

    BABY  BYTES

    BALD EAGLES ARE ALTRICIAL BIRDS
    babies are born naked and helpless at birth
    need much care from parents

    their eggs are
    3 inches long
    2 inches across

    eggs are all white
    but become stained with yellow during incubation

    eggshells have 300 - 600 tiny tiny pores per square inch
    oxygen passes in through these pores
    and
    carbon dioxide passes out through these pores

    the female sits on the eggs most of the time
    male sits on eggs some of the time

    male hunts for both he and female
    male defends nest and female and eggs

    mother or father bald eagle will sit on the eggs for up to 72 hours without moving
    then
    signals to mate that he or she is tired and needs rest
    then
    mate takes over


    if mother and father bald eagle both need to leave the nest at the same time
    they will cover the top with branches and leaves so nest looks abandoned

    inside shell baby birds have tiny egg-tooth on tip of their beaks
    they use the egg-tooth to break through the eggshell when hatching

    when a baby eagle hatches it is called a hatchling
    then until it is fully feathered and can fly the baby is called a fledgling


    born with ..
    eyes open
    no feathers
    helpless

    weigh about 3 - 4 ounces

    very soon after birth .. are covered with fuzzy down feathers
    soft gray feathers last about 3 weeks
    then coat of stronger down comes in
    their regular feathers start to grow in when the babies are about 4 weeks old

    at 6 weeks of age darker protective body feathers come in
    first flight feathers begin to come in
    flight feathers take a long time to come in fully because they do not need them right away
    the procedure is called feathering

    young bald eagles develop their full adult feather coloration at about  4 - 5  years of age

    COLORATION
    when eagles are babies they are darker so they are camouflaged to hide them

    PLAY TIME
    baby bald eagles spend a lot of time playing
    tug of war with .. sticks or bones or food

    mother and father bald eagle extremely protective
    during rain storm mother and father bald eagle will stretch out wings to make shelter for babies underneath !!!

    both mother and father feed babies
    bring food whole to nest
    tear off small pieces to feed chicks
    by time 2 weeks old the babies can pull off their bites of food from a whole fish by themselves

    FLIGHT TRAINING
    babies are very observant of the wind
    put faces into the wind
    at 7 weeks exercise wings
    grab branch of nest with feet .. flap wings .. get airborne .. but do not let go of branch with feet ..
    this exercises their wing flight muscles .. gain strength .. balance .. agility

    at 10 - 12 weeks babies are almost adult size
    bald eagle parents are away from nest more and more .. so they can hunt more to feed their HUGE babies !

    at 11 weeks .. first test flight .. motivated by own urge to fly .. do not need to be pushed ..
    jump hop jump and .. FLY
    first flight about 100 feet and back to nest !

    young adult bald eagles fledge from nest to nearby trees at about 12 weeks of age
    stay near their birth nest for about 2 - 3 months
    parents continue to feed
    until they can completely feed themselves

    parents stay near babies at night - all roost in trees near nest

    young adult bald eagles leave their parents and nest at about 6 months of age

    for first 4 to 5 years of life they explore new territories
    but always travel back by their birth nests during this time
 

    FOOD

    the primary food of bald eagles is fish

    in winter they will eat also
    ducks

    bald eagles hunt using their vision and their feet  !
    they do not use their powerful beaks for hunting
    they fly close to the ground when hunting
    they hunt during the day
    they usually do not enter the water when making a catch
    they just grab the fish from the surface of the water with their talons

    bald eagles have distinct preferences for certain types of fish
    salmon
    eel
    striped bass
    alewife
    shad

    bald eagles can detect their preferred fish from other fish in the water
    because of differences in the skin of the fish
    they can do this because of their AMAZING vision    ! ! !

    bald eagles will also eat already dead animals
    dead animals they find are called carrion

    bald eagles will feed alone or in pairs
    but
    will also feed in large communal feeding groups
    this can happen where fish gather in large concentrations to mate or lay eggs
 
 

    IT'S  A  FASCINATING  FACT   !

    SOMETIMES A MOTHER STARLING WILL MAKE HER NEST AT THE EDGE OF AN EAGLE'S NEST
    DOES NOT BOTHER BALD EAGLES AND STARLINGS ARE PROTECTED

    BALD EAGLES DO NOT SWIM  !

    bald eagles are diurnal - active during the day - stay in nest or on perch at night

    bald eagles have a special organ to help digest food called a gizzard where their food is ground up

    muscles make up 30 - 60 percent of body weight

    bald eagle vision is 6 - 8 times better than humans

    bald eagles are not bald ..
    they are called bald because piebald was an OLD ENGLISH word for black and white

    bald eagles sleep 11 - 12 hours per night

    bald eagles can see fish from 1,000 feet above the earth

    have super sense of smell

    can fly 50 miles per hour and then drop straight down to make a catch of fish

    the bald eagle became the national symbol for the United States in 1782

    bald eagles sense even small changes in air pressure ..
    these changes tell them about changes in the weather

    bald eagles look fierce but they are not at all
    they are actually quite shy   !!!
 
 
 

    ENVIRONMENTAL  CONTRIBUTION

    BALD EAGLES ARE SUPER IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTORS TO THE BIODIVERSITY OF PLANET EARTH

    EVERY SINGLE SPECIES IS SUPER SUPER IMPORTANT TO ALL THE REST
    THE MORE DIVERSE THE ENVIRONMENT OF PLANET EARTH ..
    THE BETTER FOR ALL THE BEINGS THAT LIVE HERE ..

    BALD EAGLES ARE A BEAUTIFUL PART OF THE LIFE OF THIS AMAZING PLANET

    TO LOOK UP AND SEE AN AMAZING BALD EAGLE FLYING OVERHEAD TAKES YOUR BREATH AWAY ..
    IT IS SO INCREDIBLE TO SEE ONE FLYING FREE AND WILD
    IT IS LIKE HEARING THE MOST BEAUTIFUL MUSIC IN THE WORLD
    IT MAKES YOUR HEART SING WITH HAPPINESS AND MAKES YOUR MIND FLY AND SOAR TOO
 
 
 

    HUMAN  INTERACTION

    NATIVE AMERICANS REVERED THE BALD EAGLE

    eagles in Europe during the period of 1500 - 1600 were called gripes
    early North America explorers made notes in their journals about Bald Eagles calling them gripes
    population of bald eagles was perhaps 500,000 when Europeans first arrived !!

    JOHN JAMES AUDUBON reported a decline in eagle populations in the mid 1800's
    since there were no conservation laws at that time .. humans killed them
    humans often kill things they are afraid of
    during the early 1900's humans started to become more aware of the problems
    that human activity had caused for the bald eagle

    in early 1900's the first laws were created by humans to protect animals from humans  ! ! !

    during the 1950's 1960's poison to kill mosquitoes was used
    DDT
    DDE
    DIELDRIN

    poison DDT seaped into the soil all over North American . .  then into water
    then microbes ate it .. then worms ate the microbes .. then small fish ate the worms
    then big fish ate the small fish ..
    DDT became more toxic each time it moved up the food chain ..
    by the time the eagles ate the big fish .. the concentration of the DDT was at super toxic levels

    DDT prevents the calcium layer from being deposited on the bald eagle's eggs ..
    so the eggshells did not form correctly
    when the bald eagle parents sat on their eggs .. they crushed them and they broke

    by 1960's about 400 pairs (800 birds) in total lived in the UNITED STATES
    by 1990 population was improving ..
    as of 2006 there were 7066 pairs in lower 48 states  (more than 14,000 birds )
    habitat protections granted by the ENDANGERED SPECIES STATUS in 1967 helped population increase
    the 1972 nationwide ban on pesticide DDT was just as crucial as habitat protection

    HUMANS RECKLESS IRRESPONSIBLE USE OF A HORRIBLE HORRIBLE POISON DDT
    ALMOST EXTINCTED THE BALD EAGLE       ! ! ! !


    WE STILL HAVE TO PROTECT THEM FROM US     ! ! ! !

    WORLD  STATUS

    ACCORDING TO THE US FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE
    THE STATUS OF BALD EAGLES NATIONWIDE
    IN 1963 POPULATION WAS    471 PAIRS
    IN 2000 POPULATION WAS  6471 PAIRS


    THE POPULATION NUMBERS OF BALD EAGLES ARE NOT AS HIGH AS THEY WERE IN COLONIAL TIMES
    BUT HAVE INCREASED SINCE 1963 DUE TO NATIONAL BAN ON THE USE OF POISON DDT
    AND
    THEIR PROTECTED STATUS ON THE ENDANGERED SPECIES LIST
    WHICH PROTECTED THEM AND THEIR HABITATS

    CURRENTLY THERE MAY BE 80,000 - 100,000 BALD EAGLES THROUGHOUT THEIR ENTIRE RANGE

    LARGE POPULATIONS ARE IN ..
    FLORIDA
    MINNESOTA
    WASHINGTON
    MONTANA
    AND
    THE LARGEST IS IN ALASKA
 

    PROBLEMS

    THE INSECTICIDE DDT HAS BEEN BANNED NATIONWIDE IN THE USA SINCE 1972
    IT IS STILL IN USE IN ..
    MEXICO
    CENTRAL AMERICA
    SOUTH AMERICA
    WHERE BALD EAGLES FLY IN THE WINTER !



    BALD EAGLES NEST HIGH UP IN VERY VERY TALL TREES
    BALD EAGLES NEED FOREST LAND
    AND
    AREAS THAT ARE UNDISTURBED BY HUMANS
    PEOPLE DEVELOP TOO MUCH LAND


    WHEN BALD EAGLES ARE NESTING THEY ARE VERY SUSCEPTIBLE TO DISTURBANCES CAUSED BY HUMANS
    BALD EAGLES ARE SHY BIRDS THAT NEED PRIVACY AWAY FROM HUMANS AND THEIR ACTIVITIES
    HUMANS CAN MAKE THEM SO SCARED THAT THEY COULD LEAVE THEIR NESTS WITH BABIES INSIDE


    RIVER ESTUARIES ARE HABITAT OF BALD EAGLES
    SOME HAVE BEEN DRAINED FOR HUMANS TO USE LAND FOR CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT


    INDUSTRIAL WASTES ARE DUMPED INTO WATERWAYS
    MERCURY
    PCB'S  (POLYCHLORINATED BYPHENYLS)
    LEAD
    THESE CHEMICALS BUILD UP IN THE BODIES OF FISH
    BALD EAGLES EAT FISH
    SOMETIMES THE CHEMICALS DO NOT KILL THE ADULT BALD EAGLES
    BUT
    INTERFERE WITH THEIR ABILITY TO REPRODUCE AND HAVE BABIES


    THERE IS A HUGE LACK OF EDUCATION AND KNOWLEDGE ABOUT BALD EAGLES

    DAMS BUILT TO CONTROL AND DIRECT RIVER OR LAKE WATER FLOW TO ACCOMMODATE HUMAN ACTIVITIES
    PREVENT FISH FROM RUNNING UP AND DOWN THE RIVERS


    HUMANS HAVE AN INSATIABLE DESIRE TO LIVE AT THE EDGE OF BODIES OF WATER ..
    TO POSSESS THE LAND AND THE VIEW  ..
    HUMANS DO NOT NEED TO LIVE RIGHT AT THE WATER'S EDGE ..
    BUT
    BALD EAGLES DO NEED TO LIVE AT THE WATER'S EDGE   ! ! ! ! !
 

    SOLUTIONS

    we have to ban the use of DDT worldwide  ! ! !
    humans need to write to government officials and the president of their countries to demand that
    DDT be banned all over the world
    Office of the President of THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
    The White House
    1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
    Washington, DC 20500

    we have to preserve and restore forest lands for wild animals to use and NOT for human use

    NO MORE DUMPING CHEMICALS OF ANY KIND INTO WATERWAYS

    children and parents need to demand curriculum in schools be designed around animals  !

     waterway dams need to be taken away
    if THEY ARE NOT ... then they need to be modified
    to allow fish to travel freely back and forth

    humans need to re-think living at the water's edge
    animals NEED the land .. humans can live anywhere

    we have to learn to respect all animals including bald eagles !
 

    LANGUAGE - LITERATURE  

    IN THE CULTURES OF NATIVE AMERICANS OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST OF NORTH AMERICA
    THE BALD EAGLE WAS A SYMBOL OF
    WISDOM
    POWER
    AUTHORITY

    the bald eagle first appeared on an American coin in Massachusetts in 1776

    AMERICA'S FOUNDERS WANTED NATIONAL SYMBOL TO POSSESS
    BEAUTY  POWER  GRACE  .. SO THEY CHOSE ..   THE BALD EAGLE
    officially declared national symbol  in 1782

    BALD EAGLE on the GREAT SEAL of the United States

    the bald eagle is the symbol on the national coat of arms of the United States

    eagle-eyed is a term which means having terrific vision

    the bald eagle is a symbol of freedom and power

    the bald eagle appears on every US dollar bill

    THE BALD EAGLE APPEARS ON ALL SORTS OF UNITED STATES POSTAGE STAMPS
    and other countries around the world as well too !
 
 

    LANGUAGE  LITERATURE  

    POEM




    THE EAGLE
    he clasps the crag with crooked hands
    close to the sun in lonely lands
    ringed with the azure world
    he stands
    the wrinkled sea beneath him crawls
    he watches from his mountain walls
    and like a thunderbolt .. he falls

    Alfred, Lord Tennyson
    1809 - 1892
 
 

ANIMALS  NEED  ALL  THE  PROTECTION  WE  CAN  GIVE  THEM.
WE  INTEND  TO  TRAIN  A  GROWING  NUMBER  OF  LAW  STUDENTS
IN  THIS  AREA  OF  LAW
IN  THE  HOPE
THAT  THEY  WILL  ULTIMATELY  LEAD  A  NATIONAL  EFFORT
TO  MAKE  IT  ILLEGAL
TO  BRUTALIZE
AND
EXPLOIT  THESE  HELPLESS  CREATURES.

BOB  BARKER

TEACHING  A  CHILD  NOT  TO  STEP  ON  A  
CATERPILLAR
IS  AS  VALUABLE  TO  THE  CHILD
AS  IT  IS  TO  THE  CATERPILLAR
Bradley  Miller

THE  LOVE  FOR  ALL  LIVING  CREATURES
IS  THE  MOST  NOBLE  ATTRIBUTE  OF  HUMAN
Charles Darwin

- REJOICE THAT WE ARE PART OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM
- RESPECT ALL LIFE
- OPEN OUR MINDS AND LEARN FROM ANIMALS
- TEACH CHILDREN TO LOVE AND RESPECT NATURE
- REFRAIN FROM HARMING LIFE
- HAVE COURAGE OF CONVICTION
- PRAISE AND HELP THOSE WHO WORK WITH ANIMALS
- LIVE WITH HOPE

Jane Goodall

THE  GOOD  PERSON  IS  A  FRIEND  TO  ALL  LIVING  THINGS
Albert Schweitzer
 
" How many are your works, LORD ! "
Psalm 104:24
 


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