Save the Eagles Day is observed annually on the 10th of January. Some species of eagles are on the endangered list. However, due to the work of scientists and the public, the Bald Eagle was removed from this list in June 2007.
[Click this link to watch the LIVE Eagles Cam in SW Florida]
There are more than 70 species of eagles throughout the world. The only exception is Hawaii, where no species of eagles reside. Poaching, pesticides and other dangers continue to threaten eagle populations.
- The bald eagle was chosen as a national symbol in 1782. At that time it was estimated that there were up to a half-million in North America.
- Considered a sea eagle, the bald (the name refers to its white head) eagle lives near large bodies of water and eats a diet heavy on fish.
- Mated pairs build nests high in trees and usually raise two chicks a year. A mated pair will return to the same nest each year. The nests can be 100 feet in the air.
- Owing to loss of habitat, hunting and the use of the pesticide DDT, which thinned the eggshells, its numbers dwindled to 412 mated pairs. DDT was banned in 1972, and that and other efforts caused the numbers to climb slowly. It is no longer endangered.
- Golden eagles are the most numerous eagles in North America.
- Female bald eagles are about 25 percent larger than the males
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