Photo © 2005 Jim Jung and licensors. All rights reserved.

Bald Eagles

Our national bird, the American Bald Eagle, is the big conservation success story of the last century. By 1960 they were nearly extinct in the lower 48 states due to a combination of unrestricted hunting (outlawed nation-wide in the 60's) and pesticide poisoning.

DDT and other long-lived pesticides commonly used at that time were accumulating in the bodies of the top predators - including bald eagles. It caused abnormally thin-shelled, easily broken eggs to be laid and birth defects in developing embryos. In some areas egg mortality from this condition was 100%.

With the hunting ban and the ban on long-lived pesticides in the early 70's eagle numbers slowly stabilized and then began climbing. By the 1990's Bald Eagle numbers had grown to such an extent that they were removed from the endangered species list. Today, while still far from common, Bald Eagles can usually be spotted soaring along the big river valleys and around our larger lakes.

Offsite Link:

• Bald Eagle, USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter

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