Great Places to see Bald Eagles on National Wildlife Refuges

Posted by Jeff on Jan 10, 2016 @ 10:33 am in Conservation | 0 comments | Last modified: January 10, 2016

Although bald eagles live throughout the continental United States, Alaska, with about 50,000 eagles, has the most. Ideal bald eagle habitat consists of mature shoreline forests with scattered openings and little human use, near water with abundant fish and waterfowl.

The phrase “eagle eye” describes the highly developed visual ability of bald eagles, which can spot a moving rabbit almost a mile away. An eagle, flying at 1,000 feet altitude, can spot prey across almost 3 square miles.

Before European settlers sailed to America’s shores, there may have been 500,000 bald eagles on the continent. Their population fell to endangered levels of fewer than 420 pairs in the lower 48 states by the early 1960s. Today, there are more than 6,400 nesting pairs. Because bald eagle populations have revived, the US Fish and Wildlife Service upgraded the eagle’s status from “endangered” to “threatened” with extinction in 1995.

Bald eagles feed primarily on fish, waterfowl, seagulls and carrion and occasional other animals. Eagles’ talons close instantly on their prey and can’t be opened again until the eagle pushes down on a solid surface.

Bald eagles can fly about 65 miles per hour. They can soar to altitudes of 10,000 feet, staying aloft for hours using natural wind currents and thermal updrafts.

Where to find them…