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Morning AgClips: Have you seen a bald eagle recently? I still marvel when I see one soaring in flight. It’s exciting to see them swoop down near the surface of a river and snatch a fish. You may have even taken advantage of watching “eagle cams,” 24-hour video feeds of an eagle’s nest. You may have participated in an “Eagle Watch” event, hosted by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Or, perhaps you have seen and kept an eye on an eagle’s nest near you!

The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) has been the national bird of the United States since 1782, when it was adopted as a core element in the Great Seal of the United States.

Apparently, a long-standing and frequently perpetuated myth in American history is that Benjamin Franklin preferred the turkey to the eagle as a national symbol. According to Harvard University, his tongue-in-cheek comments berating the eagle while extolling the turkey were taken out of context. Evidently, they were meant as a joke regarding the insignia of the Society of the Cincinnati, in which Franklin thought the bird depicted looked more like a turkey than an eagle. (I’m not a historian; you can do your own research and decide for yourself.)

Once a federal- and state-endangered species, due to hunting and use of certain pesticides (now banned), the bald eagle has recovered quite well.

Brian MacGowan, Purdue Extension wildlife specialist, said that bald eagles were once listed under the Endangered Species Act. “However, their populations recovered to a level where they were delisted,” he said. “Even so, Bald Eagles are still offered some level of protection under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and Migratory Bird Treaty Act.”

Indiana DNR reported that in 2020, there were more than 350 nesting territories in Indiana. Bald eagles have been sighted in almost every Indiana county.

You might assume that springtime is bald eagle breeding season, but bald eagles breed in the winter. “Winter is a time when Bald Eagles build nests in large trees or snags near sources of food – rivers, streams, and lakes,” said MacGowan. “The nests they construct are very large (4-6 feet in diameter) and can weigh more than 1,000 pounds.” He said they also construct alternate nests within their territory and will usually return to the same nesting territory year after year.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) website offers more facts on bald eagles and their young. They write that wintering eagles prefer mature trees along large, open bodies of water for daytime perches. At night, large trees in sheltered valleys and ravines are preferred for roosting, and it is common for eagles to roost in small groups during winter.

Indiana DNR further states that eagle eggs have a 35-day incubation period and that young eagles leave the nest or “fledge” at 11-12 weeks old. Adult eagles do not begin to nest until they are 4 or 5 years old. Eagles mate for life and return each year to the same location to nest and breed, selecting nest sites close to where they were raised as young.

View Morning AgClips full article for more interesting facts of bald eagles: Have You Seen A Soaring Eagle Lately?

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Resources:
Bald Eagle Breeding Season is Upon Us, Purdue Extension – Forestry & Natural Resources (FNR) Got Nature? Blog
Indiana Department of Natural Resources Shares Bald Eagle Successfully Recovered, MyDNR, Indiana’s Outdoor News
Bald Eagle, Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IN DNR)
Forestry for the Birds Virtual Tour, Purdue Extension – Pond and Wildlife
Breeding Birds and Forest Management: the Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment and the Central Hardwoods Region, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Forest Birds, The Education Store
Managing Woodlands for Birds, The Education Store
Managing Woodlands for Birds Video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Breeding Birds and Forest Management: the Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment and the Central Hardwoods Region, The Education Store
The Birders’ Dozen, Profile: Baltimore Oriole, Indiana Woodland Steward
Ask An Expert: Birdwatching, Playlist, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube channel
Birds and Residential Window Strikes: Tips for Prevention, The Education Store
No Room at the Inn: Suburban Backyards and Migratory Birds, The Education Store

Morning AgClips

John E. Woodmansee, Extension Educator – Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR)
Purdue Extension – Whitely County

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MyDNR – Indiana’s Outdoor News, Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR): The Natural Resources Commission (NRC) recently removed the bald eagle from Indiana’s list of state endangered and special concern species due to evidence of successful recovery.

The recovery of the bald eagle is one of the greatest conservation success stories in Indiana. Habitat loss, the hat-making trade, and persecution once caused dramatic declines in eagle numbers, leading to the last eagle nest being found in Indiana in 1897. Nationwide, bald eagle populations continued to decline throughout the 1950s and 60s because pesticides, like DDT, interfered with their ability to reproduce.

A combination of legislative changes and conservation efforts put bald eagles on the road to recovery. The U.S. Congress passed the Bald Eagle Protection Act in 1940 to prevent the killing of bald eagles. DDT was banned nationwide in 1972. In 1973, bald eagles were one of the first species listed as federally endangered under the Endangered Species Act. State agencies began restoration efforts to meet conservation goals for eagles as a result of this listing.

Indiana DNR reintroduced bald eagles to the state from 1985–1989. During this time, 73 eaglets from Wisconsin and Alaska were raised and released at Monroe Lake to restore a breeding population in Indiana. The first successful nesting occurred in 1991.

By 2007, the U.S. national symbol was declared recovered and removed from the federal endangered species list. Indiana followed suit in 2008, upgrading the bald eagle from a state-endangered species to a species of special concern after reaching a goal of 50 nesting pairs. This was a significant achievement—no eagles were known to have nested in the state from around 1900–1988.

In just 35 years, the bald eagle went from extirpated in Indiana to a thriving population statewide. This year, biologists estimated Indiana supported about 300 nesting pairs across 84 counties. In the last five years, at least one bald eagle nest has been documented in 88 of Indiana’s 92 counties. Chick production was also up by 11% from 2019 to 2020.

The bald eagle reintroduction program was the first endangered species restoration project in Indiana. This project and ongoing research would not be possible without donations to the Indiana Nongame Wildlife Fund, the main funding source of all nongame and endangered species research and management.

You can donate to this fund online.

Although bald eagles are no longer listed as an endangered species, they remain protected by other state and federal laws, including the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. If you see bald eagles in Indiana, observe the birds, their nests, and roosts from a distance of 330 feet, which is roughly the length of a football field. Photography enthusiasts should take photos of eagles with a telephoto lens instead of getting close to them. All should foster a climate of respect for wildlife by sharing these guidelines with friends.

Learn more about bald eagles at Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

To subscribe for the monthly newsletter view: MyDNR Email Newsletter.

Resources
Bald Eagles, Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR)
​Bald Eagle Breeding Season Is Upon Us, Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources
Breeding Birds and Forest Management: the Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment and the Central Hardwoods Region, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center

Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR)

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