Bald Eagle
They are a bird of prey found in North America. It is a sea eagle and it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle. Bald eagles are not actually bald; the name derives from an older meaning of the word, white headed. The adult is mainly brown with a white head and tail. The sexes are identical in plumage, but females are about 25 percent larger than males. The beak is large and hooked. The plumage of the immature is brown. The bald eagle is the national bird of the United States of America. The bald eagle appears on its seal. In the late 20th century it was on the brink of extirpation in the contiguous United States.
The plumage of an adult bald eagle is evenly dark brown with a white head and tail. The tail is moderately long and slightly wedge-shaped. Males and females are identical in plumage coloration, but sexual dimorphism is evident in the species, in that females are 25% larger than males. The beak, feet and irises are bright yellow. The legs are feather-free, and the toes are short and powerful with large talons. The highly developed talon of the hind toe is used to pierce the vital areas of prey while it is held immobile by the front toes. The beak is large and hooked, with a yellow cere. The adult bald eagle is unmistakable in its native range.
Habitat
During breeding season it's found in any American wetland habitat such as seacoasts, rivers, large lakes or marshes or other large bodies of open water with an abundance of fish. They require old-growth and mature stands of coniferous or hardwood trees for perching, roosting, and nesting. Tree species reportedly is less important to the eagle pair than the tree's height, composition and location. Perhaps of paramount importance for this species is an abundance of comparatively large trees surrounding the body of water. Selected trees must have good visibility, be over 20 m tall, an open structure, and proximity to prey. Nesting trees in standing water such as in a mangrove swamp, the nest can be located fairly low, as low as 6 m above the ground. A more typical tree standing on dry ground, nests may be located from 16-38 m in height. Most nests have been found within 200 m of open water.
Diet
The bald eagle is an opportunistic carnivore with the capacity to consume a great variety of prey. Throughout their range, fish is the majority of the eagle's diet. In 20 food habit studies across the species range, fish comprised 56% of the diet of nesting eagles, birds 28%, mammals 14% and other prey 2%. More than 400 species are known to be included in the bald eagle's prey spectrum, far more than its ecological equivalent in the Old World, the white-tailed eagle. In Southeast Alaska, fish comprises approximately 66% of the year-around diet of bald eagles and 78% of the prey brought to the nest by the parents. Eagles living in the Columbia River Estuary in Oregon were found to rely on fish for 90% of their dietary intake. At least 100 species of fish have been recorded in the bald eagle's diet. In the Pacific Northwest, spawning trout and salmon provide most of the bald eagles' diet from late summer throughout fall.
Breeding
They are sexually mature at four or five years of age. When they are old enough to breed, they often return to the area where they were born. It is thought that bald eagles mate for life. However, if one member of a pair dies or disappears, the survivor will choose a new mate. A pair which has repeatedly failed in breeding attempts may split and look for new mates. Courtship involves elaborate, spectacular calls and flight displays. The flight includes swoops, chases, and cartwheels, in which they fly high, lock talons, and free-fall, separating just before hitting the ground. Usually, a territory defended by a mature pair will be 1-2 km of waterside habitat. Bald eagles are early breeders: nest building or reinforcing is often by mid-February, egg laying is often late February (sometimes during deep snow in the North), and incubation is usually mid-March and early May. Eggs hatch from mid April to early May, and the young fledge late June to early July. The nest is the largest of any bird in North America; it is used repeatedly over many years and with new material added each year may eventually be as large as 4 m deep, 2.5 m across and weigh 1 metric ton. Usually nests are used for under five years or so, as they either collapse in storms or break the branches supporting them by their sheer weight. The nest is built out of branches, usually in large trees found near water. When breeding where there are no trees, the bald eagle will nest on the ground, as has been recorded largely in areas largely isolated from terrestrial predators, such as Amchitka Island in Alaska.
Population
According to the IUCN Red List they are classed as Least Concern(LC) as there numbers of the years have been increasing. This species has undergone a large and statistically significant increase over the last 40 years in North America (779% increase over 40 years, equating to a 72.2% increase per decade).
Threats
Past declines have been attributed to intense hunting, unintentional poisonings, and habitat destruction in combination with the loss of great herds of bison, a seasonally important food source.
Conservation
Currently at this time there is no actions being taken as there is a high number of mature individuals.