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Bald Eagle

English name	Bald Eagle
Scientific name	Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Dutch name	Amerikaanse zeearend
Family	Accipitridae - Hawks, Eagles and Kites
Subfamily	Buteoninae
Length	76 - 109 cm (30-43 inch)
Span	180 - 240 cm
Weigth	4000 - 6000 gram
Length of life	22 years
Voice	Harsh, high cackle
Length of life	not available yet
Range	North-America
Habitat	Coasts, rivers and lakes
Prey	Mainly fish (including dead fish)
Lay eggs in	not available yet
Number of eggs	1 - 3
Size of egg	not available yet
Sit on eggs	35 days
Time to fly out	12 weeks
Remark 1	Head and tail turn white in 4th of 5th year.
Remark 2	Can take prey up to half of its own weigth (so up to 3000 gram) during flight.
Remark 3	The bald eagle is the national symbol of the USA.
Remark 4	From more than 1000 measurements in 1990 of ringed (in the wild living) bald eagles in North-America the average weight of a female was 5244 gram, and the length of life was 21 years and 11 months.

Click on the image below for a larger and better quality of the image.

The 5 photos above are of wallpaper quality (click on the photo)

News from the media
2.
	Date:	2001-08-23
	Medium:	Internet - BBC News
	Title:	Terror beach eagle captured
	Contents:	A bald eagle that had been menacing beach-goers in New Hampshire since Friday has been captured. The eagle had spent days swooping on balls and people as they played on the sand, and on Tuesday it clawed a young girl. Police said the bird was finally caught by an animal control officer in Salisbury, Massachusetts, near the New Hampshire border and was taken to the local Coastal Animal Clinic. Through photographs the eagle, which has a 6 ft (1.8 m) wingspan, was identified as a bird that had been released from wildlife reserve in North Carolina. During its spell at the beach, the bird attacked three-year-old Kayla Finn as she was playing football with two other children. Her father had to run and shoo the bird away as it made a grab for the child. She was scratched, but did not require medical treatment after the incident. Two adults were also slightly injured during the eagle's stay. Encouraged with food Bemused beach-goers had reportedly encouraged the bird, which is about 14 months old and still has its brown plumage, by feeding it. "He associates people with food and that's the worst possible situation for a wild bird," said Peter MacKinnon, the town's animal control officer. The bird managed to elude capture for quite some time, dodging animal control officers and staying out of reach. They offered the bird bait and knowing its fondness of attacking footballs, tried to lure it into a game - to no avail. Main attraction Watching the failed attempts to capture the bird became the main source of amusement at the beach and drew huge crowds. "It's too obvious for him, the people with the bait down there," said Jonathan Joiner, aged 14, of Boston. "I don't think he's that stupid. He's up there laughing." Animal control officers said that the young bird posed little real threat to humans and in fact people seemed to have grown fond of their star attraction. "Other beaches have sharks, but at Hampton, we had to be different - we had to get an attack eagle," said Mr MacKinnon.
1.
	Date:	2001-08-23
	Medium:	Internet - CNews , weird news
	Title:	Eagle terrorizes beach
	Contents:	HAMPTON BEACH, N.H. (AP) -- A bald eagle that clawed a young girl and harassed other beachgoers since late last week was captured Wednesday. Police say the eagle was caught by an animal control officer in Salisbury, Mass., near the New Hampshire line, and was brought to the Coastal Animal Clinic there, police said. Its identity was confirmed by using a photograph, police said. The eagle, which has a two-metre wingspan, had been released into the wild from a North Carolina wildlife reserve and had been menacing people since Friday. On Sunday, it slightly injured a girl and two adults. On Tuesday, the eagle swooped down and clawed a three-year-old girl on the back. Kayla Finn of Albany, N.Y., was running down the beach near two other children playing football. Her father brushed away the bird. She did not require medical attention. "Other beaches have sharks, but at Hampton, we had to be different," said Peter MacKinnon, the town's animal control officer. "We had to get an attack eagle." The bird spent most of Tuesday perched on chimneys and rooftops, sidestepping officials each time they came close. The bird, which is about 14 months old and still has brown feathers on its head, posed little real danger to humans, officials said. Beachgoers made the situation worse by feeding the eagle, officials said. "He associates people with food and that's the worst possible situation for a wild bird," MacKinnon said. Because the eagle was attracted to footballs, officials later tried to lure it to the beach by tossing around a small green football. The eagle stayed out of the game. "It's not acting like an eagle, it's acting like a pigeon," said state wildlife biologist Eric Orff. Some of the spectators criticized the officials' tactics. "It's too obvious for him, the people with the bait down there," said Jonathan Joiner, 14, of Boston. "I don't think he's that stupid. He's up there laughing."

Links to other sites about the Bald Eagle:
  Many photo's of the Bald Eagle by George Raiche / Digibird.com  
  Many photo's of the Bald Eagle by The Ragens  
  American Bald Eagle Information  
  www.eaglestock.com  

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