Hear a story about the Bald Eagle
Hear a Bald Eagle


from The Birds of Texas
by John L. Tveten

On June 20, 1782, the U.S. Congress approved the "American eagle" as our national emblem. The designer of the seal originally proposed using the image of the golden eagle, but Congress noted that the later cosmopolitan bird had served for centuries on the seals and flags of several European states. Instead, it chose the strictly North American bald eagle.

Despite its honored and symbolic status, the eagle has been severely persecuted, along with other large birds of prey. Not until 1940 did it gain full protection under federal laws. Habitat loss also contributed to the population decline, as did toxic pesticides and heavy-metal residues. In 1982, the breeding population of bald eagles outside Alaska was estimated at fewer than 1,500 pairs. Major conservation efforts in the last [two] decades have begun to reverse the downward slide.

Its white head and tail and its massive yellow bill make the adult bald eagle immediately recognizable. Immatures, however, are mostly dark, with irregular white patches in the wings and at the base of the tail. They do not gain adult plumage until their fourth year and, until then, can easily be confused with immature golden eagles, which also show white in the underwings and tail. The common name comes from the Old English balde, meaning "white."

Flying on broad, flat wings spanning nearly eight feet, bald eagles range along the coasts and inland near lakes and rivers. They feed primarily on fish but also take small mammals and water birds as well as carrion. The eagle's cry is a shrill kweek-kik-ik-ik-ik

A pair establishes long-term bonds and performs spectacular aerial courtship displays.

The mated pair returns to the same site year after year, adding new material to the stick nest, called an aerie, until it reaches incredible proportions. One such nest proved to be nearly ten feet across and twenty feet deep. Another weighed more than two tons and contained branches six feet long and several inches in diameter. Perched high in the tops of trees, these enormous structures sometimes plummet to earth as the trees snap under the weight.

Texas hosts a small resident population of bald eagles that nests along the coastal plain between Corpus Christi and Houston and on some of the larger wooded lakes and reservoirs in the eastern portion of the state. Winter brings down a larger number from the North. Some move onto the lakes in eastern and central Texas, where they feed primarily on fish.

Today the bald eagle is a federal and state listed threatened species. To learn more about the bald eagle's decline and recovery, listen below to interviews with Kevin Herriman, Coordinator of the Annual Mid-Winter Bald Eagle Survey.

Excerpts from The Birds of Texas by John L. Tveten with permission from Shearer Publishing, Inc.

More Bird Facts The bald eagle was the first species on the Endangered Species List, established in 1973. Eagles have strong sharp talons to grasp their prey. Eagles have hooked beaks help tear away flesh. Eagles have keen vision, thus the phrase "eagle eye." The female lays from one to three large bluish white eggs. The young are three months old before they leave the nest.

Hear Interviews with Experts The Decline and Recovery of Bald Eagles Annual Bald Eagle Annual Mid-Winter Survey 1997 History of Eagle Decline Fairfield Lake Eagle Tours (dates vary yearly)