Friday, March 23, 2012

Eagle has Landed

In our breake we have a pair of bald eagles that built a nest a few years ago and every year we cant wait to check out the new babies when they fly out of the nest. Her are a few fun facts about Bald Eagles.
Color - Both male and female adult bald eagles have a blackish-brown back and breast; a white head, neck, and tail; and yellow feet and beak.
Juvenile bald eagles are a mixture of brown and white; with a black beak in young birds. The adult plumage develops when they are sexually mature. It takes about five years for their head and tail feathers to gradually turn white.
The bald eagle is the only eagle confined to North America. There are no other large blackish-brown birds with a white head and tail in North American.

Size - A female bald eagle's body length varies from 35 to 37 inches; with a wingspan of 79 to 90 inches. The smaller male bald eagle has a body length of 30 to 34 inches; with a wingspan ranging from 72 to 85 inches. An eagle's average weight is ten to fourteen pounds. Northern birds are significantly larger than their southern relatives.

Bald eagles build their nests in large trees near rivers or coasts. A typical nest is around 5 feet in diameter. Eagles often use the same nest year after year. Over the years, some nests become enormous, as much as 9 feet in diameter, weighing two tons. Even when a nest tree falls or a strong wind blows a nest down, the established pair usually rebuilds at or near the site within a few weeks if it is near the breeding season. The nest may be built in a tree, on a cliff, or even on the ground if there are no other options available.
Eagles are territorial during nesting season. They will keep other eagles out of their own nesting area. Their nesting territory is usually one to two square miles.

Sexual maturity - An eagle reaches sexual maturity at around four or five years of age. At that time, the eagle's energies become concentrated on the effort of finding a mate and raising offspring. Bald eagles mate for life, but when one dies, the survivor will not hesitate to accept a new mate.
During breeding season, both birds protect the nest territory from other eagles and predators.




Can you see that there are both the female and male eagles in this tree while taking pictures with my camera I only thought I was taking pictures of one but once downloaded we were surprised that there were two in the tree instead of one.
Here is a a baby eagle, doesnt look like a baby right? I just cant get over how big the eagles are and how the change and grow into their color.

7 comments:

  1. They are such magnificent animals!
    -Anna
    asweetsouthernmess.blogspot.com

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  2. how cool is that! My mom would love this as she always is trying to get pics of the egret and birds that land on our dock!

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  3. Anna, yes they are

    Jess,mew have been trying to get some decent pictures of them for about 3 years now they would be out when I didn't have my camera but when I did they wouldn't.

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  4. Oh my gosh, I've never seen a bald eagle up close like that. How incredible is it that they're living in your back yard?! The kids must be loving this. Just gorgeous!

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  5. Ally, yes it is so neat to watch them and how they build their nest, live off the land and take care of their young. Im learning about them everyday I didnt know their babies were black. If it wasnt for the Farmer I would have thought it was a hawk, lol

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  6. This is hands down the coolest thing in my google reader this week! This is so awesome!

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  7. How amazing! We have some larger hawks and things that live in the woods behind our house, but nothing like this! I know your kids must love it!

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Thanks for taking the time and stopping by, I love reading all your sweet comments they make my day!

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