Picture of a Bald Eagle soaring through the sky is inserted into this space.

     There is a Bald Eagle flying in the blue sky.  He is soaring over the glistening water of the lake searching for fish.  He spots one from his perch over by a waterfall.  The eagle flies down from his perch to catch some fish.  Then he flies back to his perch to kill and eat the fish.
     He starts to rip the fish apart bone by bone.  This meal of fish will last him for one day.  He will not have to hunt for another day.
The Decline of the Bald Eagle....
 
     Persecution and pesticides such as DDT have caused the bald eagle's numbers to fall sharply.  From 1917 to 1941 and from 1949 to 1953, bounty hunters in Alaska shot an estimated 140,000 birds.  Use of DDT in the 1960's and 1970's resulted in a 50-100% loss of breeding pairs in some areas.  However, during the 1990's the bald eagle's have shown signs increasing recovery.
     Everyone is cutting down trees, which is where the bald eagle lives.  People are tearing down or filling in the other homes and hunting areas of the bald eagle such as cliffs, rivers, and lakes.  They are also polluting the water, which is killing the fish, which the bald eagle eats.  It could possibly even poison the		 bald eagle because they eat contaminated fish.
     Another problem for the bald eagle is the poacher.  They kill the bald eagles for money.  They are mostly killed for their body so that it can be made into a statue.  But it's meat is also in demand.

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How you can help...

      We can save the bald eagle by designating the bald eagle a reserve area.  This would allow the bald eagle to have a place where it can mate without threat of being killed.  Often the bald 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
eagle will die when it breaks it's wings, if we need to make sure to feed them special food to make their bones stronger.  This may cause a small number of the bald eagles to survive.
      Another thing that can be done is to we can also keep the bounty hunters away from the bald eagle.  This can be done by enforcing the poaching laws and then we can prosecute the poachers.
     We can keep our water clean, free from contamination, so the bald eagle can hunt for healthy fish.  We can control our pesticides, which would help to keep the air clean.  We could keep the oil companies away from reserve areas so that there is no chance of an oil spill.

Did you know?

  • The bald eagle has been nation's symbol since 1782 it
  • symbolizes freedom, power and majesty.
  • Bony extensions of the skull act as sun visors and reduce glare.
  • Its bill is large and strongly hooked to help with tearing flesh into small pieces.
  • The eagle's ability to see from a naked eye's range is 4 to 8 times sharper than a human's.
  • They have a full time job feeding their baby.
  • Where is the bald eagle found?  It is found in Canada or the Northwest Mexico range.
  • The eagle's typical diet is the seabirds.
  • It's sexual maturity is 4 years.
  • The bald eagle hunts young sea otters.
  • The bald eagle is a very wild eagle.
  • It can mate while in the air.
  • It's breeding seasons are from October to April in the south.  In the north it is April to August.
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The Soaring Eagle

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