Conservation Guardians of Northwest Illinois
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Home • Birds
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• Bald Eagle
Bald Eagle
Species:
Description | Behavior | What You Can Do
The national bird of the U.S. is a visitor to Jo Daviess County. The white head and tail easily distinguish the mature bald eagle. The immature eagle is uniformly dark.
The overall length is 30-45 inches with a wingspan of 7-8 feet, and it has a massive yellow bill to grab and rip prey. Its call is a harsh creaking crackle, kleek-kik-ik-ik-ik.
The bald eagle prefers coasts, rivers, and large lakes in open area for habitat. It will nest in the fork of a tall tree or on cliffs, and once a nest is established the breeding pair will tend to return to that nest year after year.
The nest is composed of large sticks that are added to on a yearly basis. Sometimes, the nest can eventually become so massive that it topples the tree. The female will lay 1-3 bluish-white eggs (3 inches in size), and raise only a single brood per season.
Their diet consists largely of fish, but they will also feed on small mammals, waterfowl, and carrion. Their migratory habits depend largely on the availability of open water. As winter weather causes the water to freeze, they will move south to open water where they can capture fish.
Until recently, the bald eagle was endangered in the lower 48 states, in part because of the disastrous effects of DDT on eggshell thickness that greatly reduced breeding success.
The top bird predators were particularly susceptible to DDT because it would become more concentrated in their tissue as they ate contaminated food. With the ban on DDT, the eagle has been making a comeback, but it is still considered threatened.
The great majority of eagles breed north of here, but there have been a couple of breeding pairs in Jo Daviess County. Occasionally they can be seen in the spring and summer.
The best time, however, to see an eagle is in the winter.
— This text and image originally appeared in Territory Times.
