Bald Eagle

Happy 4th of July! To celebrate our nation’s birthday we are talking about the North American bald eagle in this week’s post! The bald eagle is the only eagle that is exclusive to North America and lives near bodies of water in The Continental United States, Alaska and Canada.

This majestic animal stands about 3 feet tall and features a wingspan of 6-7 feet. Males are a little bit smaller than females, their wing spans spread around 6 feet. The Bald Eagle will weigh anywhere from 7-14 pounds. Just based on size alone the Bald Eagle is the size of a mid-sized dog. It’s obviously lighter due to hollow bones but that doesn’t make it any less respectable. I might have to go see if I can get a guard eagle LOL.

The bald eagle is monogamous choosing one mate at a time and will only seek a new mate if one of the pair dies. They have a lifespan of 20-30 years so they spend a long time together as a couple. They also build the nest jointly. A Bald Eagle’s nest can weigh up to a ton! It can also be as wide as 8 feet across. At around 4-5 years of age bald eagles will choose mating partners. A female will lay her eggs 5-10 days after mating and will usually lay 1-3 eggs in her clutch. The eggs are incubated for about 35 days and then boom, baby bald eagles!

Bald eagles are carnivores eating a diet of fish, ducks, snakes and turtles. The term “eagle eye” is an important one to consider as the eagle soars very high in the sky while pinpointing prey below it. We are talking 10,000 feet high with a cruising altitude of 40 miles per hour. When a bald eagle has spotted its prey, its attack speed can be up to 100 miles per hour. You aren’t getting out of the way of that if it’s after you LOL. Now everyone wants a guard eagle I am sure of it.