Bald Eagles along Mississippi River

The white headed and white tailed bald eagle is the proud national symbol bird of the United States. These birds were nearly wiped out as for many decades they were hunted for sport and for the protection of fishing grounds. The use of pesticides like DDT also had its effect on the bird’s eggshell and severely limited their ability to reproduce. It was only after restricting the use of DDT and some drastic measures taken by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service the eagle’s number have rebounded significantly and are most abundant in Alaska and Canada.

Usually eagles mate for life, but will re-mate when one mate dies. Male eagles weigh around 6-9 pounds while a female could weigh up-to 16 pounds. Females are 20-30% larger than males and their diet is mostly fish with a few rabbits and ducks. They dwell in enormous stick nest around five feet wide, the immature eagles are dark till around five years they start getting the white marks on head and tail.

Every winter hundreds of bald eagles are seen at every Lock and Dam site along the Mississippi River. The best time for eagle gazing is from November to February. In the month of January “Eagle Watch” events are organized in many river towns with volunteer interpreters, spotting scopes, and educational displays. In Keokuk, Iowa, in1985 the first Eagle Watch was organized along the Mississippi river. Since then similar events have become popular in other towns along the river.