Gallery at a Glance:
Bald eagles adults (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), juveniles, immatures, flying, soaring, perched, fishing.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Haliaeetus
Species: leucocephalus
"A very great vision is needed, and the man who has it must follow it as the eagle seeks the deepest blue of the sky." -- Chief Crazy Horse.
Bald eagles and Bald eagles 2.
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Regular updates, more photos, videos and conversation.
Photo Gallery: Bald Eagle Photographs 3
An adult bald eagle portrait, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Homer, Alaska. |
An adult bald eagle sitting on a log, calling out, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Alaska. |
Portrait of an adult bald eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Homer, Alaska. |
A side on profile headshot of an adult bald eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Alaska. |
An adult bald eagle soaring against the sky photo, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, near Homer, Alaska. |
A mature bald eagle coming for a landing, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Kachemak Bay, Alaska. |
A juvenile bald eagle in flight, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Alaska. |
A mature bald eagle soaring photo, blue sky background, Homer, Alaska. |
A mature bald eagle fishing in Kachemak Bay, Alaska.Haliaeetus leucocephalus. |
Adult bald eagle photo, landing on a perch, near Homer, Alaska. Haliaeetus leucocephalus. |
Bald eagle grabbing a fish photo, Kachemak Bay, near Homer, Alaska. Haliaeetus leucocephalus. |
Bald eagle in flight fishing over Kachemak Bay, Homer, Alaska. Haliaeetus leucocephalus. |
A bald eagle in flight, almost upside down, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Alaska. |
A bald eagle completely sideways, in flight, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Alaska. |
A bald eagle soaring over the mountains of Kachemak Bay State Park, near Homer, Alaska. Haliaeetus leucocephalus. |
A Bald eagle in flight, soaring against the mountains, Kachemak Bay, Alaska. Haliaeetus leucocephalus. |
A bald eagle fishing, backlit and splashed with a touch of light, over Kachemak Bay, near Homer, Alaska. Haliaeetus leucocephalus. |
A bald eagle feeding on fish, in winter, snowing, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Alaska. |
An adult bald eagle with a fish in its talons, over Kachemak Bay at sunset, near Homer, Alaska. Haliaeetus leucocephalus. |
Adult bald eagle coming for a landing, near Homer, Alaska. Haliaeetus leucocephalus. |
A juvenile bald eagle photo, from Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Haliaeetus leucocephalus, |
A majestic bald eagle photo, perched on driftwood, near Homer, Alaska. Haliaeetus leucocephalus. |
An adult bald eagle calling, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Alaska. |
A bald eagle perched against a spruce tree background, near Homer, Alaska. Haliaeetus leucocephalus, |
The winter of 2004 I returned once again to shoot the bald eagles of Homer. The weather wasn't as co-operative as I would've liked it to be, but nature photographers learn to take what comes their way with that kind of thing. The eagles winter here each year, before returning to their breeding and hunting grounds for the summer. It's fascinating to watch them, and study the birds in the various stages of their lifecycle. Newly hatched birds, called eaglets, are light grey, and turn a dark brown after 12 weeks, at which time they reach full size, and leave the next. The first year birds (juveniles) are all dark, a deep chocolate brown, and often have fluffy feathers on their stomach and breast region. Varying amounts of white come in over the next couple of years, as the eagles take on new plumage. These are called 'immatures'. Adult plumage is reached at 4-5 years, with the white head, the yellow beak and feet, and the lighter eyes.Adults are monogamous, and mate for life. A mature bald eagle will only take a new partner if its current mate dies.
The bald eagle is the only eagle found exclusively on the North American continent. The bird is called a 'bald' eagle because the word 'balde', in earlier forms of the English language, meant "white". The scientific name for the bird, haliaeetus leucocephalus', comes from the Latin roots, "halo", meaning sea, "aeetos", meaning eagle, and "leukos", meaning white. They are among the largest birds in North America, with the adult females between 30 and 40 inches long, and can weigh up to 15 pounds, with a huge wingspan of nearly 8 feet. Males are slightly smaller, and birds in the Southern locales of the US tend to be smaller than birds in the Northern climes (Alaska, Pacific Northewst, etc). Bald eagles can fly at speeds up to 65 miles an hour, reaching speeds of 150 to 200 miles an hour in a steep dive. They feed primarily on fish, and thus tend to be found along waterways, marshes, rivers, oceans, lakes, etc. Their sharp and powerful talons are up to an inch long, and can easily apply pressue of close to 1000 pounds per square inch. The bald eagle is indeed a powerful predator!
Mass shootings, the use of pesticides on crops, destruction of habitat, contaminated waterways and food sources, along with other forms of pollution, have decimated the eagle population, from an estimated half million eagles in the 17th century to close to 400 pairs in the 1960's. Now numbering at close to 5000 pairs (in the Lower 48) the return of the eagle to much of the Lower 48 states has required close management, and much is still to be done before the bald eagle is seen again in reasonable numbers. In May 2004, the current Bush administration announced that the bald eagle will be taken off the endangered species list, but will continue to receive protected status through the federal Bald Eagle Protection Act of 1940 and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.