Bald eagles are a spectacular sight up close. I photographed this one from a few feet away at the wildlife center at Miami Science Museum. He has a wing injury and is being nursed back to health. Check out those talons! Eagle talons are used for both slicing their prey and carrying them. Yikes!
These eagles got their name because the word “bald” was at one time used for meaning plain or white. More than half of North America’s bald eagles live in Alaska and Canada’s British Colombia. Apparently the abundance of salmon is what attracts them to this region. In addition to different kinds of fish, a small percentage of the bald eagle diet also also includes small mammals.
Did you know it was once believed that there were 2 subspecies of bald eagles - Southern and Northern? It turns out that there really aren’t. It is just that eagles who live in hot climates like Florida are smaller in size.
In 2007 the bald eagle was taken off the endangered species list. They are protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.
Check out The American Eagle Foundation website for more info about our National Bird.