- Mary K. Hanson
- Posted On
Tuleyome Tales: The bald eagles are here
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – A lot of people seem surprised when I tell them I’ve spotted and photographed Bald Eagles in the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument region, but then I remind them that the region boasts the second largest population of wintering bald eagles in the state of California.
Yes. The bald eagles are here, and right now is one of the best times of the year to see them in our area.
The only eagles unique to North America, the bald eagles’ mating season starts in September and can go through to April – depending on where they live.
During this time, you may often see males and females doing their courtship dance in the air high over your head.
While flying, the partners lock their talons together and then tumble in a spiral down to the earth, separating above the ground and flying off again just before they crash.
The adult eagles – which mate for life – can weigh around 14 pounds and live for up to 30 years in the wild, but they don’t get their distinctive white head and yellow beak until they’re a little over 4 years old.
Younger bald eagles are mottled brown and white with a black beak, and are sometimes confused with juvenile golden eagles, which look very similar.
The easiest way to tell juvenile baldies from juvenile goldens is to look at the legs. If there is feathering down the leg to the toes, it’s a golden eagle. Juvenile bald eagles' feet and “ankles” are bare.
Female bald eagles have the same coloring as males, but can be distinguished from the males by their larger in size.
Here are a few other fun facts about our national bird:
• Bald Eagles like to play. They’ve been observed tossing around plastic bottles and other light objects on the ground, and even passing sticks back and forth between them when in flight.
• For optimum saturation of oxygen, when the eagle takes a breath, the air passes through the lungs twice before it’s exhaled.
• The eagles’ eyes are almost as large as those of a human, but their eyesight is four times keener than ours.
• Their nests can be up to 8 feet wide and weigh over a ton. Males and females work together to build their nests and the construction can take up to 3 months. Bald Eagles will often use the same nest site year after year.
• They can fly at speeds up to 35 miles per hour, and can “swim” by using their wings like oars to move them across the top of the water.
• Bald eagles are “diurnal” which means they’re most active during the day – which in turn makes it easier for us to see them!
• The large birds prefer a diet of fish, but will eat just about anything they can find; and they’re not above literally stealing meals out of the mouths of other animals like otters and Osprey. Baldies have also been known to gorge themselves when food is plentiful, then sit quietly for several days while their gigantic meal is digested.
The fact that we’re still able to see bald eagles in our region at all is due to some great conservation efforts.
In 1978, as their populations were plummeting due to DDT poisoning, shooting, trapping and other factors, bald eagles were placed on the endangered species list.
It took almost 30 years to restore their numbers, but by 2007 populations were healthy enough so that the bird could be delisted.
Eagles are still protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Act, however, and it is against the law to trap, purchase or sell the eagles, their nests, eggs or body parts.
In fact Federation Regulation 50472, Section 22.12 clearly states twice that not only are these acts illegal, the federal government “will not issue a permit to authorize these acts.”
For the chance to see some bald eagles yourself, check out the Cache Creek area in Yolo County, around Clear Lake in Lake County, along the shores of Lake Berryessa in Napa County and at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge in Glenn County.
Also check periodically on the Bureau of Land Management’s Web site for the bald eagle hikes they do in January and February each year, or call their Ukiah field office at 707-468-4000.
Tuleyome Tales is a monthly publication of Tuleyome, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit conservation organization based in Woodland, Calif. Mary K. Hanson is a Certified California Naturalist and author of “The Chubby Woman’s Walkabout” blog. For more information about Tuleyome, see their Web site at www.tuleyome.org .