Fellow Americans, do you know what today is? Today is National American Eagle day!! It is a day to celebrate America’s national bird, animal, SYMBOL! It is also a day to create awareness around our bad ass birdie that nearly found itself on the extinct list!
Like a proper comeback story fitting of our American ideals, our national symbol had its own struggles. Back in the 70’s, when DDT was a popular product used on farms the bald eagle and many other big birds of prey found their population dwindling. Take in the horrifying fact: In the 1970’s the eagle population in New Jersey was reduced to just one pair! ONE PAIR! And it stayed at one pair for nearly 10 years! It wasn’t until the banning of DDT that the population slowly started a comeback (check out the book by Rachel Carson Silent Springs for more information).
I am happy to report that the New Jersey population has reached 82 pairs as of 2015! Not only that, but the bald eagle has been taken of the Federal Endangered Species list for the lower 48 as of 2007.
Check out this awesome website that shows the population growth of the bald eagles in New Jersey.
If you get the opportunity to see these guys in the wild take it. They are amazingly impressive with a wingspan that leaves your jaw on the floor. There are some awesome spots in Jersey that you have the opportunity to see them, my personal favorite being the Manasquan Reservoir (I may be bias I worked there for years!) Even working there for as long as I did, every time I saw one of the eagles soar above I was awe struck! So get out there and explore some of the amazing nature around us!
Bald Eagle Fun Facts:
Because we all need some fun facts in our lives!
- The name bald eagle derives from the older meaning of “white head” since bald eagles aren’t really bald!
- An eagles wingspan can be 6-7ft long!
- Eagles tend to use the same nest year after year. The largest nest was found in St. Petersburg, FL coming in at 9.5 feet in diameter, 20 feet deep and weighing a whopping 3 tons!!!
- They are opportunist feeders, they will scavenge, steal other birds food and hunt for themselves. Because of this Benjamin Franklin didn’t want them as our national bird and instead preferred the turkey.
- They aren’t just found in the USA you can also find them in northern Mexico and Canada. They prefer open water since their favorite food is fish!
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