The Bald Eagle, the symbol of our country for centuries, ascended on Dec. 24, 2024, to be our national bird.
The Bald Eagle is officially our national bird — centuries after people thought it was. And it’s Friday, which in the old days was when Buckets were photo sequences. So I figured it was time our Raptor in Chief got its due.
I shot these photos on the last day of 2024, which was sunny. Both felt like a good omen.
So please enjoy 3 minutes and 33 seconds in Bald Eagle world. (And because you know that where I find birds I also find words, there will be some history below as well.)
Flying low over Puget Sound, a Bald Eagle cries as while aiming for its destination (2:30:08 p.m.).
It lowers its landing gear (2:30:13 p.m.) . . .
. . . braces for touchdown (2:30:15 p.m.) . . .
. . . and it sticks the landing on a tiny island (2:30:15 p.m. as well).
But wait, a second cry comes from high in the sky (2:30:45 p.m.).
Look at those fabulous feathers (also 2:30:45 p.m.) . . .
. . . and the pure white fan of its tail (2:30:49 p.m.).
Spiraling as it gradually lowers itself in the air (2:30:53 p.m.).
Calling out again (2:31:01 p.m.).
Banking along its glide path (2:31:06 p.m.).
Turned toward its destination and flying low (2:31:27 p.m.).
Primaries fanned out for landing (2:31:30 p.m.).
Landing gear down and wings braced like a parachute (2:32:29 p.m.).
Turning toward its mate just one second later (2:32:30 p.m.).
On firm ground and stealing a look (2:32:36 p.m.).
Together at last (2:33:41 p.m.). A happy ending to our story.
The Bald Eagle’s story was once not a happy one, but it’s made a remarkable comeback from near-disaster. The bird was once so abundant in Alaska that in 1917, a bounty was established to protect salmon stocks and fox farming from its depradation. More than 128,000 bounties were paid during 35 years before the practice was overruled by federal regulation in 1952. (However, Wyoming paid bounties as late as 1970-71, when 770 Bald Eagles were shot for $25 apiece.)
By the mid- to late 1900s, the bird was rare in the contiguous United States and southern Canada, “its survival rate substantially reduced by human persecution, and fecundity reduced by pesticides, primarily DDT,” which caused eggshell thinning. (Birds of the World). The Bald Eagle Protection Act of 1940 (which later was expanded to include Golden Eagles) prohibited any form of hunting, possession, or sale of the Bald
Eagle, as well as eagle parts, nests, and eggs. (An amendment to the act in 1962 allowed Native Americans access to eagles for use in their religious ceremonies.)
Still, by the 1960s, the number of breeding pairs in the continental United States had plummeted to around 400. More protection came in 1966 under the Endangered Species Preservation Act. Importantly, the use of DDT was banned in the U.S. in 1972.
Recovery: In 1978, the entire population of Bald Eagles in the contiguous United States was listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Beginning in 1980, its populations began increasing, so much so that by 2007, it was removed from U.S. Endangered Species Act protection. By 2020, the population was estimated at 316,700 individuals and 71,400 occupied nests in the contiguous United States, and 58,000 adults along the Pacific Coast from southern British Columbia to the Alaska Peninsula — four times the population estimated in 2009. Its recovery is considered among the most successful conservation stories in North America.
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Our nation has not always been kind to the Bald Eagle. But with help, today it reigns resilient.
I’d like to salute the many scientists, activists, government workers and regular folks who’ve worked hard to make amends, to help it toward recovery. And especially the Indigenous Peoples, who’ve always known the measure of this majestic raptor, and never lost their reverence. They’ve been our teachers.
Sources: Birds of the World, Michigan State University Animal Legal & Historical Center, History.com.
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Please share your stories of Bald Eagle sightings, or whatever you’re enjoying in nature. Because this is primarily a photo sequence, it’s also an open thread. Also, I saw there was nothing in the queue, and stayed up late putting this together. So you can bet I won’t be an early bird. Thanks for reading!