Bald Eagle

(Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

*Species description adapted from Snyder, 1993.

LEGAL STATUS:

Federally listed as Endangered.

TIMING OF MAJOR LIFE HISTORY EVENTS:

Mate - late September through November in the South
Maturity - 4 to 5 years
Clutch - two eggs
Incubation - 35 days
Fledge - 10 to 12 weeks

PREFERRED HABITAT:

Bald eagles prefer habitat near seacoasts, rivers, large lakes, and other large areas of open water [1].  They prefer to nest, perch, and roost primarily in old-growth and mature stands of conifers or hardwoods.  Eagles usually select the oldest and tallest trees that have good visibility, an open structure, and are near prey [2].  Eagles choose sites more than 0.75 miles (1.2 km) from low-density human disturbance and more than 1.2 miles (1.8 km) from medium- to high-density human disturbance [1].

COVER REQUIREMENTS:

Bald eagles need old-growth or late-successional forests for nesting and roosting [3].  Nest snags must be sturdy to support nests.  Tree height or species is not as important as the abundance of comparatively large trees near feeding areas [2].  Lakes greater than 3.8 square miles (10 sq km) may be optimal for breeding bald eagles, although longer and narrower bodies of water can support breeding pairs.  Nest trees should have an open form and sturdy branches in the upper one-third of the tree.  Eagles nest in the overstory.  Forests used for nesting should have a canopy cover of less than 60 percent (may be as low as 20 percent) and be near water.  Roosting sites need not be as near to water as nesting sites.  It is more important that roosting sites are in dense stands of old growth that offer protection from weather.

MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS:

Humans pose the greatest threat to bald eagles through habitat destruction, pesticide use, and poaching [4].  Eagles are most easily disturbed by pedestrian traffic and least disturbed by aircraft.  Establishing buffer zones of 167 to 592 feet (450-1,600 m) in the Southeast was recommended to reduce the impact of human disturbance on nesting pairs [5].

DIRECT FIRE EFFECTS ON ANIMALS:

Bald eagles have continued nesting during wildfire and returned to the nest the following year [6].