Of all the federally listed species in the United States, none is better known than the bald eagle. A symbol of freedom and strength, the bald eagle also represents an inspiring success story: thanks to strong environmental laws and ambitious restoration programs, it has been brought back from the edge of extinction. Here in New England, there are now more than 200 pairs of breeding eagles.
A soaring bald eagle is a thrilling sight. Nearly 3 feet long with a wingspan approaching 7 feet, it is the largest bird in eastern North America. Across its range, bald eagles are seldom far from large bodies of water, where they feed on fish, waterfowl, mammals and carrion.
Biologists estimate that when European colonists first arrived, there were at least 25 breeding pairs of bald eagles in MA. But very quickly, the landscape that eagles had inhabited for thousands of years changed..... dramatically. By 1850, 85% of MA had been cleared for agriculture and, along with other birds of prey, eagles were deliberately shot and poisoned.This combination of habitat destruction and persecution eventually eliminated eagles as a breeding bird in MA. By 1905 the last active bald eagle nest in MA had passed into history.

By the middle of this century, enough farmland had been abandoned and enough forest had regenerated to create decent eagle habitat once again. But by then there was yet another threat to breeding eagles. A threat as important as habitat destruction but more insidious. DDT.Championed as the wonder pesticide to rid agricultural and forest lands of noxious insects, millions of gallons were sprayed in the northeast. By the early 1960's, less than 20 years after its introduction, biologists saw a link between DDT and the drastic declines in wildlife populations. Studies soon revealed that DDT, its by-product DDE and another widely used pesticide known as dieldrin, were accumulating in the food chain and concentrating in top predators like eagles and osprey. At high concentrations these pesticides impaired a bird's reproductive success--resulting in delayed egg laying, mortality of the embryos and nestlings and the disruption of the bird's calcium metabolism. The latter caused eggshells to be 20% thinner, and the fragile shells actually broke in the nest during incubation. The effects of pesticides caused dramatic declines in the eagle population, and in 1973 our national bird was placed on the newly created, federal list of endangered species.

In 1982, a decade after DDT was banned in the US, Massachusetts began an eagle restoration program. Over the next seven years, 41 bald eagle nestlings from Canada and Michigan were raised and released near the Quabbin Reservoir. In 1989, two pairs nested and for the first time since the turn of the century two healthy eagle chicks hatched and successfully fledged in MA. Since then, a total of 67 eagles have been produced in wild MA nests and the state now boasts nine breeding pairs and more pairs with territories. In the rest of New England, CT has three active nests, NH only 1, ME a remarkable 200, but VT and RI presently have none.

Most of the bald eagles in southern New England are found in the CT River Watershed, either at Quabbin Reservoir or along the CT River itself. The nest behind me has been used for several years and like other nests in our area, is built securely in a large cottonwood near the river. Eagle nests like this one are about 8 feet wide and can weigh over a ton. Sometime in mid-March, the female lays 1 to 3 eggs. These hatch in mid-April and for the next 9 weeks the parents bring prey to the nest, tearing it apart into bite-sized mouthfuls for the voracious chicks. Around week 5, every eaglet in MA is visited by a small team of state biologists and veterinarians. After lowering the chicks down from the nest, each gets a complete physical. Before the bird is sent back up to the nest, a small blood sample and a feather are removed to test for contaminants AND the young birds are fitted with aluminum leg bands. This process takes about 30 minutes for each chick and when the biologists leave, they put fresh fish in the nest. When the parent eagles, who have been watching from a distance, return to the nest, they use these fish and continue to feed their young. In another month, the eaglets take their first flights but stay near the parents for another 2 months. By late September the chicks go off on their own, but they won't establish territories or begin breeding for another 4-5 years.

Thanks to these restoration efforts, remarkable improvements in water quality and the reduction of pesticides and other toxins in our environment, bald eagle populations have increased dramatically throughout the northeast. The challenge for the future is to continue preserving eagle habitat--ensuring that nesting sites are secure and that winter feeding areas are protected. The goals are a self-sustaining bald eagle population in Massachusetts, the eventual removal of the bald eagle from the Federal Endangered Species list and the restoration of this magnificent bird to its rightful place in the skies over the United States.

Questions and Activities after Watching the Video:

1. Do bald eagles nest or overwinter in your part of the state? Find out where and plan a visit for some eagle observation time.

2. Make a transparency of the silhouettes of several of our common birds of prey (don’t forget bald eagle!). use an overhead projector to magnify the silhouettes and trace on to large sheets of paper. Color then black and cut them out. Tape them to your ceiling and windows.

3. Build a full size bald eagle nest in your classroom.

4. Set up a raffle or some other fund-raiser and then contact Tom Ricardi to do a program for your school. (Tom lives in Conway, MA: tel: 413-369-4072). The fee for Tom’s programs is used to support his birds of prey rehabilitation center.

5. Get a supply of barn owl pellets and some literature about owls and their prey. Keep track of all the bones, especially the skulls you find. Make a chart/graph that shows prey preferences.