We’re listening to the sounds of a bald eagle, warning intruders to stay away from its nest. I’m Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet, presented by the American Museum of Natural History.
Bald Eagles have reason to be protective- their nests require a very specific set of conditions, making the birds vulnerable to habitat loss. Bruce Wright is Chairman of the American Bald Eagle Research Institute in Juno, Alaska.
“It appears that eagles prefer old growth forests where you have very large climax trees for nesting. And this is important so they can build a nest that’s high enough that allows them to have a good view of the habitat, but they also have enough tree still above the nest to protect them from the weather. And it’s strong enough to hold the nest that weighs maybe 2,000 pounds. So habitat is real important, and if you go into an area and you cut all your trees down, then the likelihood of eagles doing well in that area is much reduced. ”
Due to habitat loss and contamination from chemicals such as DDT, bald eagles were once on the verge of extinction. Well, these days, thanks to protection under the Endangered Species Act, their numbers are on the rise.
“Bald eagles in the contiguous 48 states were listed as endangered until two years ago, and now it’s been upgraded to threatened. Personally, I would love to see them taken off the endangered species list. I think we’re ecologically almost to that point. It would be a great success story. I mean, they almost went extinct; outside of Canada and Alaska, they were very close to going extinct.”
This month, young bald eagles in Alaska are honing their flight skills. Soon they’ll begin migrating in search of food and, eventually, a territory of their own.
Additional funding for Pulse of the Planet has been provided by the National Science Foundation. I’m Jim Metzner.