- Comments:
With their white head and tail, dark body and 7-foot wingspan the bald eagle is one
of our most recognizable birds. In 1782, the bald eagle was adopted as our national
symbol. In the 1970s, the population dropped to approximately 2,000 birds in the lower 48
states. They were listed as an “endangered species” in 1973. With the banning of
the chemical DDT the birds have made a slow but steady recovery. (Update: the
bald eagle was removed from the federal list of threatened and endangered species on
August 8, 2007) Young eagles less than 4 years of age do not have the white head and tail
and are sometimes misidentified as golden eagles.
- Distribution:
The bald eagle is found only in North America. Most of its population nests in
Alaska and Canada. Through the winter, migrants are found around most of the large
reservoirs and rivers in Kansas. A small, but growing number of bald eagles have nested in
Kansas since 1989.
Recent Bald Eagle nests in
Kansas
and number of eaglets fledged/year
- YEAR - # nests - # fledglings
- 1989 - 1 - 2
- 1990 - 2 - 4
- 1991 - 2 - 5
- 1992 - 2 - 5
- 1993 - 3 - 6
- 1994 - 5 - 12
- 1995 - 5 - 5
- 1996 - 5 - 9
- 1997 - 7 - 16
- 1998 - 7 - 11
- 1999 - 7 - 11
- 2000 - 10 - 19
- 2001 - 12 - 18
- 2002 - 13 - 19
- 2003 - 18 - 32
- 2004 - 21 - 34
- 2005 - 23 - 38
- 2006 - 23 - 35
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- Food:
Dead or dying fish and waterfowl make up most of the diet for bald eagles. They
will also feed on dead deer or livestock when available.
- More information on Bald Eagles may be found in the Kansas Wildlife Refuge!
Other Kansas Eagles
GOLDEN EAGLE
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