BALD EAGLE NESTING
Here’s a program from our archives.
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The bald eagle, once a symbol of endangered species, has been fortunate enough to recover it’s population and be removed from the endangered list. Still, they’re one of the Earth’s more elusive birds, and this week they’re nesting in North America. I’m Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet.
Many of us will never be lucky enough to actually see a bald eagle in the wild, but according to William Mannan with the University of Arizona’s School of Renewable Natural Resources, this week is a good time to look for them as they nest in the treetops high above the lakes of the Northeastern United States.
Mannan: They were once found, and still are sporadically, across all of North America. They eat primarily fish, so they are almost always associated with a river, a lake, or a reservoir.
Even if you manage to see a bald eagle, you’ll probably never get close enough to hear one make this sound.
ambience: Bald Eagle chatter call
Mannan: What we’re hearing now is the chatter call of the adult bald eagle, made when an individual, either another bird or a human, approaches the nest sight. It’s kind of a threat or a territorial call. These are certainly given most consistently during the breeding season when there are young in the nest.
The eagle hatchlings will stay around the nest for the next few months, depending upon on their parents for food. When they do leave, and become mature enough to breed, there’s a good chance one of the hatchlings will return to raise its chicks in the same nest where it was born.
I’m Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet.