Bald Eagle

(Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Date of Listing: Endangered, 1967; Threatened, 1995

© Photo courtesy Martin Fulfer, TPWD

Bald Eagles build large stick nests lined with soft materials such as grass, leaves, and spanish moss. Nests are used for several years by the same pair of eagles, with the birds adding materials each year. Nests are often very large, measuring 6 feet across and weighing hundreds of pounds. Young eagles can fly in 11 to 12 weeks, but the parents continue to feed them for 4 to 6 more weeks while they learn to hunt. Northern breeders migrate north out of Texas in early spring and return by September or October.

Note: Special thanks to the photographers for providing images of Texas endangered and threatened animals. All rights to these images are reserved. Educational use permitted.

The decline of the Bald Eagle coincided with the introduction of the pesticide DDT in 1947. Birds of prey at the top of the food chain, such as eagles, ingested relatively high levels of the pesticide, which was concentrated in the fatty tissues of their prey. Eagles contaminated with DDT failed to lay eggs or produced thin eggshells that broke during incubation. In 1972, DDT was banned in the United States, and a slow recovery for the Bald Eagle began. Loss of nesting habitat due to development along the coast and near inland rivers and waterways also has resulted in decreasing numbers of Bald Eagles.

Size:

3 ft. long with a 7 ft. wingspan.

Diet:

Mostly fish, waterbirds and turtles.

Habitat (where it lives):

Quiet coastal areas, rivers or lakeshores with large, tall trees. Man-made reservoirs have provided excellent habitat.

Range (where found in Texas):

Breeds primarily in eastern third of Texas (mostly east of I-35) ; winters wherever open water occurs.

Life Span:

Up to 36 years in captivity.

Reproduction:

Usually 2 eggs laid in December.

Population Numbers:

1996 estimate for Texas was 49 active nests, and in 1997, 305 wintering birds were tallied at a total of 22 sites statewide.

Interesting Facts:

Eagles capture fish by extending their talons a few inches below the water's surface. Live fish are vulnerable only when near the surface or in shallow water.

Delisted - read the 2007 report from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, which also contains a link to the Final Rule published in the Federal Register.