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Text Box: longer protected,” said Ulgonda Kirkpatrick, eagle plan coordinator for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). “No; you can’t take down the tree with the bald eagle nest in it. Bald eagles are certainly still protected.” You might think a strong, high-flying bird with fearsome talons, a sharp beak and even sharper vision could fend for itself.
Haliaeetus leucocephalus” can see for a mile and a half. The second-largest eater, either. It scavenges for fish carcasses and carrion of other animals, swipes food from other animals and hunts live prey when needed. Nevertheless, it was no match for habitat loss; being shot, trapped or poisoned; and the ravages of the pesticide DDT on the birds’ eggshells. What mankind wrought, mankind had to fix. In 1972, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency banned DDT. Congress passed the Endangered Species Act in 1973 and added the bald eagle to its protective umbrella in 1978. These changes made a difference. Florida’s population of bald eagle nesting territories went from 200 in the 1970s to 1,340 in 2009. “The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says Florida is showing the rest of the nation how to protect and manage the species—by leaps and bounds,” Kirkpatrick said. The state has more bald eagles than any state other than Alaska and Minnesota. Even when the numbers were low, Florida was better off than other states because of its aquatic habitats and rich supply of fish—eagles’ favorite food. An FWC scientist coordinated a project to help Georgia, Alabama and Oklahoma jumpstart their eagle populations a quarter-century ago. Scientists gathered 18 bald eagle eggs and rushed them to Oklahoma to hatch. The hatchlings were fed by eagle puppets, so the chicks wouldn’t imprint with humans. When the birds were strong enough, scientist took them to roosts in the three states. The courtship ritual looks like warfare. Bald eagles are daredevils. They literally fall head-over-heels for each other. They “fly to great latitude, lock talons, and tumble cartwheel back to ward earth,” breaking off at the last minute to avoid crashing, according to “The Birds of North America Online.” They’re basically monogamous for life, and good parents. Eagles walk carefully around the nest with clenched feet, apparently to prevent their talons from piercing the one to three eggs in a typical clutch. Breeding adults may be very territorial, but bald eagles are social at their communal roosts, chattering away the hours. One quirk belies the eagle’s mighty image. The big bird sometimes has a weak voice. “The Birds of North America” describes it as a rapid choking sound “Ki-ki-ki-ki-ki-ki-ker.” This nation’s emblem is actually a bald eagle that is 5 or more years old. Young eagles start out completely dark brown and gradually become the easily recognizable dark brown bird with white head, neck and tail. In between juvenile birds are a mottled brown and white. Before leaving home, fledglings practice flying from one side of the nest rim to the other, then to nearby branches. Half of the first “flights” are unsuccessful, according to “The Birds of North America.” Those that fall to earth may have to stay there a week or so to regain strength. In the meantime, if the parents can get to the young eagle, they’ll feed it while it is on the ground. Once on the wing, juveniles in Florida tend to disperse north. The bald eagle flies by slow, deep wing beats. It holds its wide wings at a right angle to it body on a flat plane. Its golden eyes watch intently over the wild landscapes of America. Scientists, government agencies and citizens are watching the bald eagle too, this time to protect it. To learn more, go to MyFWC.com/Wildlife. Despite being removed from Florida’s

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Text Box: Cold Weather Forces Fewer Eagles to Flock to Eagle Watch By Melissa Regennitter

Text Box: MUSCATINE, Iowa - There weren’t a lot of eagles along the Mississippi River Saturday during the annual Muscatine Bald Eagle Watch. Experts say the river froze early this year and the lack of in the bald eagle’s primary food source on the river, gizzard shad, has made the birds head inland to tributaries or south to warmer river pools. “The gizzard shad population is in a cyclical crash. Ninety percent of the diet for eagles that feed here is gizzard shad,” said Kelly J. McKay, director of the BioEco Research and Monitoring Center in Hampton, IL. Last year there was more shad and the freeze set in a little later, keeping the water open longer. Dozens of eagles put on a show for spectators in 2009. This year was different. Persistent, below normal temperatures made Saturday’s show less spectacular. Dozens of people pulled their cars up to watch the birds near the lookout tower at Lock & Dam 16, across the river from Muscatine a mile north of the Norbert F. Becky Bridge. Most of the hopeful viewers didn’t get out of their cars because there were no eagles in the air around 11 a.m. Eagle Watch volunteer Vernon Ohlendorf said he drove out to the dam several times last week and never saw more than three our four eagles. “I live on the bluff and usually see many each day, but this year it’s not the same,” he said. “Some years there are only a few and others I have counted 100 or more in this area.” Ohloendorf helped people at the tower by focusing spotting scopes onto the trees across the river where a handful of eagles were perched. McKay said he surveys the river from Clinton to Keithsburg, IL. And typically counts 3,000 to 4,000 bald eagles in the 80-mile stretch. Next week he will do the survey for this year but expect to see only about 1,000 eagles. Naturalists from Wildlife Prairie State Park near Peoria, IL, presented two bird programs during the free event. People were able to get up close with, and learn about, owls, a turkey vulture and a falcon. A bald eagle named Mitkitcha is usually the star of the show but was unable to attend this year because it’s getting to know a new trainer. Rudy Vallejo, a member of the Kickapoo Tribe of Kansas, demonstrated the significance of the bald eagle to Native American culture by performing a dance in honor of the bird. Also participating Bald Eagle Days with booths were local Master Gardeners from the Iowa State University Extension, Muscatine

Text Box: Stretch your arms straight out for an instant idea of the bald eagle’s wingspan. Then add a couple of feet. The U.S. Congress was impressed enough by the large, fiercely majestic looking bird of prey to make it the national emblem in 1782. More than two centuries later, the eagle still is the symbol of U.S. government, freedom and democracy. It is also the symbol of one of America’s best environmental success stories. Due to outstanding conservation measures, the federal government removed the bald eagle from its endangered species list in 2007. Florida took the bird off its imperiled species list the following year. “Just because it has been delisted does not mean that it’s no