Bald eagles, have colorful history & Eagle Days start today

Bald eagles, now-revered birds, have colorful history
By Francis Skalicky, Missouri Department of Conservation
Published News-Leader, January 19, 2012
Article link, HERE

Bald eagles have always been our national symbol, but they haven’t always been every American’s favorite bird.

Before they were birds humans admire (and the federal government protects), bald eagles were deemed by some to be harmful predators that should be eliminated. This unfortunate misperception is a well-documented but mostly forgotten episode in the history of one of North America’s best-known birds.

Thanks to conservation efforts, bald eagle populations have increased in recent decades. One of the places this abundance can be noticed is Missouri. In winter, an annual influx of migrating eagles from the north often swells this state’s bald eagle numbers to more than 2,000.

When you see a bald eagle, you’re seeing one of nature’s spectacular creatures. Its large size (wing span of up to 8 feet, weight of up to 15 pounds), its vision that’s estimated to be five to six times sharper than a human’s, the striking contrast of its white head against its dark body and its “fierce” expression are some of the reasons this bird is revered by humans.

But that human admiration wasn’t always universal. The pesticide DDT is considered to be the primary cause for the eagle’s mid-20th century drop in numbers, but before its invention in 1946; the United States’ national symbol had another enemy: the rifle.

“The eagle is a curse to the rest of the animal kingdom and the sooner it is exterminated, the better off the game will be.” That excerpt from a 1920 editorial in the Alaskan newspaper, the Valdez Miner, described the opinions of a number of Alaskans in the early 20th century. The bald eagle was perceived as a threat to the territory’s (Alaska didn’t become a state until 1959) salmon-fishing industry, and a bounty was placed on eagles. This bounty was in effect for most years from 1917 to 1953, grew from 50 cents to $2 per bird, and accounted for the deaths of thousands of bald eagles. (In the two-year legislative period of 1927-28 alone, bounties were paid for 27,843 bald eagles.) Steadily increasing criticism, coupled with studies showing that eagle predation on salmon had little effect on the state’s fishing industry; finally ended Alaska’s eagle-hunting in the early 1950s.

Bald eagles also got little love from generations of sheep farmers in the western U.S. because of the belief that they preyed on lambs. In 1971, 700 dead bald eagles were found near a Wyoming sheep ranch. Autopsies and information gathered from neighbors revealed some had been poisoned, while others were shot from a helicopter.

Studies over the years have shown the bald eagle’s lamb-hunting reputation is based more on misinformed hearsay than fact. While it’s true the primarily fish-eating bald eagles are opportunistic predators that prey on other animals, they also eat carrion. Most of the meat bald eagles get from sheep and other livestock is off carcasses.

Thankfully for bald eagles, humans have a better understanding of them today.

Francis Skalicky is the media specialist for the Missouri Department of Conservation’s Southwest Region. For information about conservation issues, call 417-895-6880.

Eagle Days start today. Want to go?
Eagle Days sessions will be held Saturday (today, Jan 21) and Sunday (tomorrow, Jan 22) with programs at the Springfield Conservation Nature Center. An observing area will be at the Lake Springfield Park boathouse on Lake Springfield.