Did you know that the United States adopted the bald eagle as the national bird and symbol of the nation in 1782? They had never seen a bald eagle in Europe because the American bald Eagle is unique to North America. They had never seen a bald eagle in Europe because the American bald Eagle is unique to North America. The sea eagle name lingers, and the scientific name, Haliaetus leucocephalus, actually means "sea eagle with a white head" in Greek and Latin.

The bald eagle remains the only North American 'sea eagle.' Its appearance is unmistakable by its white head and white tail set against the backdrop of its beautiful, plush, deep chocolate-colored body. Many items, such as U.S. coins, flags, seals, and even buildings, have used the bald eagle's image as a symbol of the nation.

These birds of prey are raptors, along with owls, hawks, vultures, and falcons. The bald eagle lives on a diet of live prey, such as waterfowl and fish, as well as rodents, snakes, rabbits, and birds, but they will eat carrion when there is no live prey to be eaten. Few animals dare stand in the way of the bald eagle, who can reach an adult size of 16 pounds, with wingspans of 7.5 feet and lengths of 32 inches. Florida is the home of the smaller bald eagles, and Alaska is home to the larger ones. Even small bald eagles intimidate the other animals in the region, and they scatter whenever the mighty bird begins to land.

Bald eagles need plenty of space for hunting, requiring 2 to 15 square miles of hunting ground for every hunting pair. Bald eagle pairs live in a shared nest, keeping it closely guarded from harm. The bald eagle sometimes chases animals that have made a catch of their own, such as the east Central Florida bald eagles that chase Ospreys along the Indian River lagoon. The Osprey usually drops its hard-won catch in order to escape the powerful eagle, and the eagle, not at all fussy about its meals, will then eat it.

These powerful birds of prey retain a strong instinct toward family loyalty. Bald eagles keep the same mate for life, unlike most species of bird. Most birds live only a few years, but the bald eagle in the wild can live to be as old as 25. The bald eagle can be found in many areas of North America, from Alaska, to Mexico, and all over the continental United States and Canada.

Even though these great travelers fly long distances to summer in the cooler weather of the northern United States and Canada, when it comes time to mate, they generally retrace their paths and nest within just a hundred or two miles from where they were hatched. In the springtime, the bald eagle can lay one to three eggs, each hatching in about 35 days. It takes about three months for the babies to start flying, and after the fourth month, they fly away from the nest to strike out for themselves. Almost 70% of young eagles will survive their first year of life, adapting to their environment despite the dangers of food shortages, bad weather, illnesses and toxic chemicals.

Did you know the government passed the Bald Eagle Protection Act to save the species in 1940? The law prohibits anyone from disturbing or bothering bald eagles. The law also prohibited taking the animals, their eggs, or their nests, for any reason unless they have a permit. Taking an eagle included shooting at the birds, wounding them, trapping, capturing, disturbing them, or killing them in any manner.

The bald eagle began to die off due to pesticide overuse and DDT and other toxic chemicals. New laws and reintroduction programs for the bald eagle have given the birds a chance to survive. In those days, many people thought it might be too late to save the bald eagle as in neared extinction.

Animals with very low populations could be legally classified as threatened by the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and the species with the lowest numbers could be classified as being endangered. Bald eagles stayed on most states' endangered species lists until the 1990s, when the species began to dramatically increase in numbers.

The bald eagle was reclassified by Congress as threatened on August 11, 1995, after its numbers grew from 500 pairs in 1963 to 5,000 pairs in 1994. As the number of bald eagles increase, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has plans to remove the bird from the endangered species list altogether.

The mighty bald eagle makes a wonderful bird watching experience. The long strides of the bald eagle as it launches leads into the soaring, slow motion movement of the bird in flight. The determined eagle keeps to its determined path, its prize kept in sight. The efforts made to revive the species have been successful, leaving a majestic presence in the skies. Take any opportunity to see these magnificent animals.

OodlesOnBaldEagles.com reveals interesting facts about our national bird in addition to offering bald eagle clocks and other eagle products such as the Flag Flying Eagle.