During the winter, Bald Eagles sometimes congregate near open water such as the St. They usually nest in large trees such as pine and poplar. While fish are their main source of food, Bald Eagles can easily catch prey up to the size of ducks, and frequently feed on dead animals, including White-tailed Deer.

Where it livesīald Eagles nest in a variety of habitats and forest types, almost always near a major lake or river where they do most of their hunting. They soar on flattened wings and in silhouette show as much head and neck in front of the wing as there is tail projecting behind. Bald Eagles have a wingspan of just over two metres. Young eagles are mostly brown, variably speckled with white. Its massive beak is bright yellow, as are its powerful legs. The Bald Eagle is a well-known bird of prey with a bright white head, neck and tail, and a dark brown body. The Bald Eagle was already assessed as a species of special concern when the Endangered Species Act took effect in 2008. Date added to the Species at Risk in Ontario List “Special Concern” means the species lives in the wild in Ontario, is not endangered or threatened, but may become threatened or endangered due to a combination of biological characteristics and identified threats. Click here to make a donation today.Cover photos credit: (left), Bill Dalton (middle-left), David Gibson (middle-right), and John Stephens (right) Status Special Concern If you enjoyed this content and would like to make a donation to help Three Minutes Outdoors with bills and production costs (which are sometimes quite hefty!) it would be greatly appreciated.

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With their enormous wings, eagles can make use of the warm updrafts of air that are in an area and can be seen gracefully soaring and circling through the sky, higher and higher and higher, all the way up to heights of well over 10,000 feet. However, when they’re in hunting mode, eagles can gain an incredible amount of momentum and acceleration and come dive bombing in to grab a prey item at astonishing speeds of up to 75 to even 100 mph.Īlong with being able to fly at amazing speeds and carry heavy loads while in flight, the bald eagle can also reach mind-blowing heights. It takes a big, strong set of wings to haul off that much weight, but with a wingspan of five and a half to almost eight feet long, depending on the eagle’s age and size, the mighty bald eagle is up to the job.īald eagles are often seen gracefully gliding around the vast open skies, and when they’re cruising along more deliberately while en route to a particular location, they typically fly at speeds of 35 to 45 mph. However, 4 pounds is still a substantial load for a bird to fly with.

As I explored in the past video about what eagles eat, while there are all sorts of wild, ridiculous myths about the things that eagles will carry away and feed on, in reality, they’re able to lift and carry away prey items that weigh up to around 4 pounds. A mature bald eagle stands at around 32 inches tall and weighs 8 to 14 pounds on average. Bald Eagles are good-sized birds and if you’ve had the opportunity to see one up close and personal then you can appreciate just how large these majestic raptors are.

Wingspan of a bald eagle