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[glogdog]

Bob - thanks so much for posting your 14 interesting facts!  I do wish though that they would stop dubbing the eagle's cry for a hawk's.  I could listen to Mom & Dad's squees all day long and never get tired of them. 

Well this is the holiday weekend that we celebrate July 4, Independence Day, the day in 1776 that the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress.  On page 1 of this thread, I mention the Great Seal of the United States.  The choice of that seal fell to Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams, all among the drafters of the Declaration of Independence.  The trio's first ideas were complex and filled with biblical or classical references - Hercules, Moses, and the Pharaoh, the Goddess of Justice - and weren't accepted by Congress.  Later committees began considering eagles, although at first they toyed with the sort of double-headed eagle found on many European coats of arms.  Finally in 1782, the Secretary of the Congress, Charles Thompson, got the task of taking the earlier proposals and creating a simple, effective seal.  His idea, after some alterations, was accepted by Congress June 20, 1782.  It showed a bald eagle with a striped shield on its chest holding the olive branch of peace in one foot and the arrows of war in the other.  In its beak was a banner with Jefferson't motto E Pluribus Unum (From Many, One), and a constellation of 13 stars over its head.  See my link on page 1 for the picture. 

[glogdog]

What if you come across a Bald Eagle (or another raptor/bird) that is banded?  Who do you report it to?  Well, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service would love to know.  You can contact them by email at www.reportband.gov or call 1-800-327-BAND.  Here's the link for more information:

https://www.fws.gov/birds/surveys-and-data/bird-banding/reporting-banded-birds.php

[glogdog]

Back last August, I mentioned some towns named after Raptors.  Here's a few more:

Eagle Summit (AK)
Eagle Mere (PA)
Eagletail Mountain (AZ)
Eagletown (NC, OK)
Eagle Valley (NY)
Eagle Village (AK, IN)
Eagleville (CA, CT, MO, NY-2 sites, PA, TN)
Grey Eagle (MN)
Imperial Eagle Channel (B.C.)
Little Eagle (SD)

[glogdog]

In chat, you may remember us talking about the difference in size between northern bald eagles and southern ones.  That's called Bergmann's Rule.  Northern Bald Eagles are much larger than Southern ones.  Larger sizes are found in colder climates, smaller sizes in warmer climates.  Gary Bortolotti states that the smallest Bald Eagles breed in Florida, and the largest in Alaska (probably in the Aleutian Islands).  In between is a gradation of small to large from south to north.  The boundary between them was arbitrarily set at 40 degrees north latitude.  So where is that?  I found a neat link with a map of the U.S. and some photos of cities that it runs through.  Check it out:

http://petapixel.com/2012/10/29/photographer-capturing-the-40th-parallel-all-across-the-united-states/

[glogdog]

Can an eagle eat and fly at the same time? Well, I'll let you decide.  Here is probably my most favorite video of Bald Eagles (outside of our Decorah eagles of course).  This video has the most fitting music as you watch the beauty of eagles soaring - those large, powerful, graceful wings.  There's so much to see in this video.  Convocations (groups of eagles on the ground or on ice), young immatures and matures together.   The young ones I bet are learning a lot.  You see the agile, superb flying skills and abilities of eagles as they catch their prey.  Maneuvers that you marvel at.  Oh yes, and can they really eat and fly at the same time?! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g3LN9AxxzA     

[glogdog]

One of the more common questions asked about Bald Eagles is "How long do they live?"  The average is 25-30 years in the wild and up to 50 years in captivity.  Well, one bald eagle found last June 2015 in upstate New York lived for 38 years, a new national record.  Here's the article:

http://blogs.mprnews.org/newscut/2015/06/nations-oldest-bald-eagle-a-minnesotan-dead-at-38/

[glogdog]

So how fast do those big, beautiful wings of a Bald Eagle work while in flight? Well researchers Jon Gerrard and Gary Bortolotti spent time observing Bald Eagles up at Besnard Lake in Saskatchewan and here is what they recorded.  First of all, the feathers of the wing and tail of a fledgling are longer than those of adults.  As an eagle matures, its wings become shorter and narrower and its tail shorter with each successive molt. The larger wing of an immature or a sub-adult permits them to fly slower so here's the stats when they counted wing flaps during flight:  Adult eagles flapping steadily in calm air fly at 28-32 miles per hour. Immatures with their relatively larger wings flap slower than adults. That changes progressively as an eagle ages.  The flapping rates of 13 immatures averaged 167 flaps per minute; of 2 near-adults 177 flaps per minute; and of 28 adults 188 flaps per minute. Information taken from their book, The Bald Eagle - Haunts and Habits of a Wilderness Monarch.

[glogdog]

Bald Eagles regurgitate pellets after eating, usually the morning after a meal. Pellets are formed in the gizzard, passed from there to the mouth, and then are vomited or "cast".   They are made up of the undigestible parts of food like feathers, fur, and some bones.  Pellets can be many shapes and sizes.  Typical shapes are cylindrical and spherical. In one study in Illinois, 29 were examined.  20 were cylindrical and averaged 7.1 centimeters in length (2.79 inches) and 2.5 centimeters in diameter (.98 inch).  The other 9 were spherical and about 2.1 centimeters in diameter (.826 inch).

[glogdog]

If you live in Iowa, there are plenty of Eagle watching events planned for January, February, and March.  Here's the listing from the Iowa DNR:

http://www.iowadnr.gov/About-DNR/DNR-News-Releases/ArticleID/1107/2017-bald-eagle-watching-events

[glogdog]

Did you know that January is National Bald Eagle Watch month? Well it is!  The National Eagle Center in Wabasha, MN has some upcoming Eagle Viewing Trips. 

Hey - who do I see listed under "Eagle Nest Cam Links" off on the right-hand side of the page?   Now there's a good place to park yourself and watch.

 https://www.nationaleaglecenter.org/eagle-viewing/   

[glogdog]

So sometimes we get asked the question in  Chat, "How long does it take to build a Bald Eagle's nest?"  Most references will tell us that it could take less than a week in a pinch...generally it takes a few months.  Well now, we have definitive proof of the "less than a week" part.  There is a Bald Eagle's nest up in Pittsburgh, PA - the Pittsburgh Hays Nest, that has quite a story that has unfolded this month.  Details from their website are that "The eagles laid their 1st egg on 2/10/17 @ 5:49 PM.  Two days later their nest tree blew down in a wind storm on 2/12/17 @ 9:30 PM.  On 2/15/17 the eagles started building a new nest about 100 yards from the fallen nest tree and in 4 days the new nest was complete.  On 2/19/17 a group of citizen scientists viewed incubation behavior which suggested the female laid her 3rd egg in the new nest with the assumption the 2nd egg was laid elsewhere by the female."  Now that IS amazing!  Here's the link to the cam:

http://www.pixcontroller.com/eagles/index.htm   

[glogdog]

From the Minnesota DNR Daily Digest Bulletin, here's a link to many outdoor events and activities related to birds, raptors including Bald Eagles, and more if you live in the Midwest.  Of special note...off to the left-hand side of the page is another link in blue, "Where Eagles Land".  It lists Eagle watching festivals for 2017. Even though most have passed, there are events going on this weekend in Ferryville, WI and Wabasha, MN to enjoy.  Take note to check for this next year when January rolls around.  Time to get outside and enjoy nature for all it's worth. 

https://midwestweekends.com/plan_a_trip/nature/birds_wildlife/spring_birding_festivals.html?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term=   

[glogdog]

Why do avian biologists and researchers band birds including Bald Eagles?  Does the bird know that band is there?  What information is on it?  I first dove into Dr. Scott Nielsen's book, A Season with Eagles, for answers and then tapped into two of Amy's Blogs.  Dr. Nielsen's book, page 63, has a great photo of a 3 week old eaglet, the perfect age for banding.  Dr. Nielsen states that this age keeps the chances of nest desertion to a minimum.  Researchers wait until the eaglets are 2-3 weeks of age after bonding has occurred.  One of Amy Ries's Blogs mentions the 20-30 day age range when RRP bands peregrine falcons as a window.

So what is gained or learned from banding?  One of Amy's blogs states it is to study "movement, survival, and behavior."  Things like dispersal patterns, migration routes, behavior, social structure, seasonal and long-term population trends, and mortality rates are just some of the reasons. 
 
Bands are very light and only put on when the leg is fully or pretty much reached its adult size.  These government issued bands each have a unique number issued by the North American Bird Banding Lab. The banders record the location of the nest (site name and coordinates), the sex (if known), the band number, the actual or approximate age of the bird, and the bird bander.

If you find a bird with a band, Amy advises the following:  "You can report bands to the Bird Banding Lab by calling 1-800-327-2263 or going to their website at http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/BBL/bblretrv/."

Here are two RRP Blog links to find out more:

https://raptorresource.blogspot.com/2013/02/banding-birds-part-i-brief-history.html

https://raptorresource.blogspot.com/2013/03/03012013-banding-birds-part-ii-how-we.html

[glogdog]

Just came across some interesting information that goes right along with my post above about banding.  This from the Center for Conservation Biology - just when you think you're just grabbing your camera to photograph eagles, there's more to this than meets the eye!  Read how photographers are helping raptor biologists:

http://www.ccbbirds.org/2017/04/04/eagle-photographers-contribute-to-science/

[glogdog]

Happy American Eagle Day!  On June 20, 1782, the Bald Eagle became our nation's symbol and national bird.  It was added to the official seal of the United States.  Bald eagles also hold significant value in many Native American cultures and religions, where they signify freedom, strength, honesty, wisdom, and power.  Here's one of my all-time favorite eagle videos showing the majesty and beauty of the bald eagle. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g3LN9AxxzA