BALD EAGLES
· Have 7,000 feathers.
· Juveniles are a mixture of mostly brown and some white. They reach full maturity between 4-5 years of age, at which time they obtain the full white head and tail and start looking for a mate.
· Females are about 25% larger than the males. Alaskan females generally weigh around 14 pounds, whereas Alaskan males weigh around 9.5 pounds.
· Typical wingspan is about 5.9 feet to 7.5 feet long.
· The beak, talon and feathers are made out of keratin.
· Lifespan ranges from 20-30 years in the wild.
· Mate for life unless one dies or disappears. A pair may split and look for new mates if they have repeatedly failed at breeding attempts.
· Lay 1-3 eggs. Both male and female share the duties of the 35 days of incubation.
· Became the national emblem in 1782 when the great seal of the United States was adopted.
· Causes of death include fatal gun shot wounds, electrocution, poisoning, collisions with vehicles, and starvation.
· Opportunistic feeder, which subsists mainly of fish. Also eats smaller birds and mammals.
· Removed from the endangered species list in 1995. Removed from the threatened species list in 2007.
· Habitats include seacoasts, rivers, large lakes and marshes.
· Most nests have been found within 660 feet of open water. The largest nest recorded was in Florida in 1963, and was measured at nearly 10 feet wide and 20 feet deep.
· In Southeast Alaska, Sitka Spruce trees provide 78% of the nesting trees used by eagles, followed by Hemlocks at 20%. The remaining is accounted for nests near man-made reservoirs stocked with fish.
· Reaches speeds of 35-43 mph. Its dive speed is between 75-99 mph.
· Gripping power (pounds per square inch) of talons is estimated to be 10 times greater than that of a human hand.
· Can fly with fish at least equal to their own weight, but if the fish is too heavy to lift, the eagle may be dragged into the water. It may swim to safety, but some eagles drown or succumb to hypothermia.
· Juveniles are a mixture of mostly brown and some white. They reach full maturity between 4-5 years of age, at which time they obtain the full white head and tail and start looking for a mate.
· Females are about 25% larger than the males. Alaskan females generally weigh around 14 pounds, whereas Alaskan males weigh around 9.5 pounds.
· Typical wingspan is about 5.9 feet to 7.5 feet long.
· The beak, talon and feathers are made out of keratin.
· Lifespan ranges from 20-30 years in the wild.
· Mate for life unless one dies or disappears. A pair may split and look for new mates if they have repeatedly failed at breeding attempts.
· Lay 1-3 eggs. Both male and female share the duties of the 35 days of incubation.
· Became the national emblem in 1782 when the great seal of the United States was adopted.
· Causes of death include fatal gun shot wounds, electrocution, poisoning, collisions with vehicles, and starvation.
· Opportunistic feeder, which subsists mainly of fish. Also eats smaller birds and mammals.
· Removed from the endangered species list in 1995. Removed from the threatened species list in 2007.
· Habitats include seacoasts, rivers, large lakes and marshes.
· Most nests have been found within 660 feet of open water. The largest nest recorded was in Florida in 1963, and was measured at nearly 10 feet wide and 20 feet deep.
· In Southeast Alaska, Sitka Spruce trees provide 78% of the nesting trees used by eagles, followed by Hemlocks at 20%. The remaining is accounted for nests near man-made reservoirs stocked with fish.
· Reaches speeds of 35-43 mph. Its dive speed is between 75-99 mph.
· Gripping power (pounds per square inch) of talons is estimated to be 10 times greater than that of a human hand.
· Can fly with fish at least equal to their own weight, but if the fish is too heavy to lift, the eagle may be dragged into the water. It may swim to safety, but some eagles drown or succumb to hypothermia.
