Observed each year on June 20th is National American Eagle Day. This day is set aside to honor our national symbol, raise awareness for protecting the Bald Eagle, assist in the recovery of their natural environments and take part in educational outreach.
The Bald Eagle is both the national bird and the national animal of the United States of America and appears on its Seal.
In the latter 20th century, the Bald Eagle was on the brink of extinction in the continental United States. Eventually, populations recovered and on July 12, 1995, the species was removed from the U.S. Federal Government’s List of Endangered Species and transferred to the List of Threatened Species. On June 2007, it was withdrawn from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife in the Lower 48 States.
The Bald Eagle’s range includes most of Canada, Alaska, all of the contiguous United States and northern Mexico. They can be found near large bodies of open water where there is an abundant food supply and old-growth trees for nesting.
Opportunistic feeders, Bald Eagles survive mainly on fish, swooping down and snatching them from the water. Their nests are the largest nests of any North American bird and the largest tree nests ever recorded for any animal species. The largest recorded eagle’s nest was found in St. Petersburg, Florida. It measured 9.5 feet in diameter and 20 feet deep. It weighed in at nearly 3 tons.
The name “Bald Eagle” derives from an older meaning of “white headed” as the bird is actually not bald. The adult eagle is mainly brown with a white head and tail.
We miss you Dad
