Eagles honored
The bald eagle has been a symbol of our nation’s strength since the Revolutionary War, but it was not made our national bird until recently.
The bald eagle is emblematic of America and on coins, bills and is on the Great Seal of the United States. Conservation efforts were needed to bring the species back from the brink of extinction. Though it was used as the national symbol more than 240 years ago, Congress had never made it official.
That changed on Christmas Eve 2024, when President Joe Biden signed the legislation declaring the bald eagle the official national bird.
“For nearly 250 years, we called the bald eagle the national bird when it wasn’t,” said Jack Davis, co-chair of the National Bird Initiative for the National Eagle Center, in a news release. “But now the title is official, and no bird is more deserving.”
Eagle Day is Jan. 11. Eagle appreciation days are Jan. 18-19
Watch the eagle cam
Local eagle cam: Jackie, an eagle in Big Bear, has laid three eggs. You can watch the nest on the online camera at:www.friendsofbigbearvalley.org/eagles.
Delayed incubation: Many bald eagles do not incubate the first egg right away, delaying development so that their chicks hatch closer together. The main idea behind this evolutionary adaptation is to ensure that younger chicks have a higher chance of survival while competing with their older siblings for food and shelter.
Pip watch: When there’s a visible bump or crack in the eggshell is expected to start March 1.
Other bald eagle facts
The bald eagle was voted our national seal in 1782. To help preserve the bird’s declining numbers, Congress passed the Bald Eagle Protection Act in 1940. The birds have avoided the endangered species list since 2007.
The Latin name “Haliaeetus leucocephalus” means “white-headed sea eagle.” The word bald refers to an old English word meaning white, like that of a judge’s wig in the English legal system.
Nearly every Native American tribe has its own name for eagle.
Bald eagles migrate to Southern California from thousands of miles away. The UC Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group used battery-powered sensors and satellite telemetry to track migratory patterns of eagles. On March 13, 1998, one bird took off from Silverwood Lake and landed at Great Slave Lake, Canada, on April 16 – a distance of more than 1,800 miles in just over a month.
Golden eagles in California tend to be here year-round, but golden eagles in Alaska and Canada may migrate south as far as 1,000 miles to wintering areas.
You can hear the sound of bald eagles on allaboutbirds.org here.
Eagles have about 7,000 feathers. Their feathers are made of keratin and grow continuously, just like their talons and beaks.
It is illegal to possess any part of an eagle. If you find feathers, contact the National Eagle Repository at 303-287-2110.
Golden eagles
This bird is widespread in the wilder country of North America, Europe and Asia. About the same size as the bald eagle, the golden eagle is less of a scavenger and more of a predator, regularly taking prey up to the size of foxes and cranes.
Some bird scientists have raised concern that their populations are on decline in Southern California.
The golden eagle is the most common official national animal in the world — it’s the emblem of Albania, Germany, Austria, Mexico and Kazakhstan.
Biologists, engineers and government officials have cooperated in developing and publicizing power-pole designs that reduce raptor electrocutions—caused when the large birds’ wings or feet accidentally touch two lines and form a circuit. Since the early 1970s, utility companies have modified poles to prevent eagle electrocutions. And some new power lines in non-urban areas have been built to “raptor-safe” construction standards.
Although capable of killing large prey such as cranes and domestic livestock, the golden eagle subsists primarily on rabbits, hares, ground squirrels and prairie dogs.
The rough-legged hawk, the ferruginous hawk and the golden eagle are the only American raptors to have legs feathered all the way to the toes.
The oldest recorded golden eagle was at least 31 years, 8 months old, when it was found in 2012 in Utah. It was banded in the same state in 1980.
- Bald and golden eagles often mate for life.
- Acquires adult plumage at 4 or 5 years of age.
- May fly more than 100 miles in a day.
Worldwide, there are approximately 74 species of eagles, but only two in North America. Never disturb or approach an eagle’s nest, even if they are not in it.
Bald eagles can be spotted near Big Bear Lake, Irvine Lake, Lake Elsinore, Huntington Beach’s Central Park and Catalina Island.
Golden eagles have been spotted in almost all Southern California counties except for Imperial County in recent years.
The first quarter made by the U.S. Mint in 1796 was silver. The designs from 1796 to 1930 showed Liberty on the obverse and an eagle on the reverse.
Female bald eagles can lay two to four eggs a year. Chicks fledge, or leave the nest, at about 12 weeks old.
Females are larger than males, and birds of northern states and provinces tend to be larger than those from the southern portions of the breeding range.Lifespan more than 20 years in the wild.
Backyard bird count
The Cornell Lab Great Backyard Bird Count will be held Friday – Feb. 17. It takes as little as 15 minutes and will help create a real-time snapshot of bird populations.
Go to birdcount.org for more information.
Sources: All About Birds, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service; California Department of Fish and Wildlife, birdcount.org, Audubon.orgPhotos: SCNG file photos; The Associated Press; Wikimedia Commons