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| Eagle mid-flight. (Photo by Alli Faricy) |
Ever seen
the majestic bird of prey that represents America as its National Symbol? They are an impressive sight! We are lucky enough to see them quite regularly out on nature trips and during our environmental education programs here at Camp
Foley. In fact, camp director Alli
Faricy has snapped photos of them in mid-flight around our Whitefish Lake on several occasions.
With
their large brown bodies and snow-white feathered heads, bald eagles are
unmistakable and easy to distinguish from hawks, vultures, and other large
raptors. They can grow to 40
inches in length and have a huge wingspan of up to 7.5 feet. Perhaps this is why they make the
largest nests of any bird in North America.
Bald
Eagles can be found from Canada to Northern Mexico, but prefer to live near
oceans, lakes, or rivers because they feed primarily on fish. Using its keen eyesight, they can spot
a fish several hundred yards away, and swoop down and pluck it from the water
with its powerful talons as the fish comes up to feed. These powerful birds have been clocked
diving through the air at up to 43 mph, and flying away with a fish in their
talons at 30 mph.
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| Photo by Alli Faricy |
It is
believed that Bald Eagles mate for life, and have sometimes been observed
hunting together. In these cases,
one eagle distracts their potential prey while the other swoops in to pounce on
it. While a large percentage of
the birds diet consists of fish and carrion (the carcasses of dead animals that
have been left behind by other predators), they also catch and eat small
reptiles like snakes and lizards, and mammals such as rabbits, squirrels, and
raccoons. Hungry bald eagles will
sometimes hunt larger animals too, and have even been observed successfully
catching an adult trumpeter swan in mid-flight.
As the
National Bird of the United States, the Bald Eagle is protected by federal
law. Unfortunately, illegal
hunting and the use of dangerous crop pesticides in America during the 1950’s,
60’s, and 70’s nearly caused this beautiful creature to go extinct. By 1950, there were only 412 pairs of
bald eagles left in the entire United States!
Fortunately,
through the creation of stronger, stricter poaching laws, the banning of
harmful chemicals like DDT, and the efforts of raptor rehabilitation centers
across North America, the Bald Eagle population has rebounded to over 100,000
birds. And the third largest
concentration of Bald Eagles is right here in Minnesota (behind Alaska and Florida), where it is estimated
that about 1,312 pairs live in the wild.
The Bald
Eagle is sacred to many Native American cultures, and some even saw it as a
wise and powerful messenger from the spirit world. This is one of the reasons eagle feathers and talons (claws)
are used in some traditional Native American ceremonies and dances.
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| Photo by Alli Faricy |
Our
Founding Fathers chose the Bald Eagle to represent our country as our National
Symbol because the eagle was a symbol of the ancient Republic of Rome – the
democratic government of the mighty Roman Empire run by a council of senators
(before Rome became a dictatorship).
On the Presidential Seal of The United States, the bald eagle is
represented holding thirteen arrows in one talon and thirteen olive branches in
the other. The arrows and olive
branches represent America’s thirteen original colonies, and symbolize that
while the United States prefers peace, it will fight to protect the safety and
freedom of its people.
So the
next time you’re out on a trip or participating in a water activity at Camp Foley, be sure to keep
your eyes peeled. You just might
see one of these majestic creatures.
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