bald eagle
Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Identification:
Everybody knows the Bald Eagle, at least in its striking adult form – a BIG bird with white head and tail, brown body, and fearsome yellow beak. Juveniles may be a bit harder to distinguish from other species; they have brown bodies, but their heads are brown and their tails are mottled, with a dark band at the very tip. The underwings are also mottled brown and white. Unlike the similar Golden Eagle, the Bald Eagle holds its wings straight out in flight. Behavior: The Bald Eagle generally seeks nesting sites near water; its preferred food is fish. However, it will capture or steal other prey including various mammals and other birds. It builds a stick nest high in a tree. There are a number of “eagle cam” websites that allow viewers to see the whole nesting and chick raising process up close. The Bald Eagle population is a well known conservation success story; its numbers have rebounded since the population crisis years in the mid twentieth century. What brings it to the SBG? The bird seen at SBG was a juvenile eagle, sighted in late October. It was probably just passing over. Either it was migrating or it was being pushed out to find its own territory. When can I see it? Bald Eagles can be seen year-round in Pennsylvania. |