Immature Bald Eagle by Kevin
I picked this bird because it is one of my favorite birds in library. I learned that immature Bald Eagles like to take baths in rivers and streams. A young eagle's head, tail, and neck, gradually get whiter as it ages and is totally white by the age of four or five.
Many people mistake the immature Bald eagle for a Golden eagle. We found out from Mr. Dave Scheidt, a local falconer, that there are Golden eagles in Alaska too, but few this side of Thompson Pass. They are territorial and don't like to be around others of their kind the way Bald eagles do.
The immature Bald Eagle weighs from 8 to 13 pounds. Eagles are scavengers and eat many varieties of small animals, but their favorite food is fish. It snatches them from the water while flying or sometimes by plunging into the water for a instant. It lives and nests near coastlines, rivers, lakes, wet prairies, and coastal pine lands in North America from Alaska and Canada south into Florida and Baja, California.
The immature eagle sometimes
appears larger than mature adults. That is because a young eagle's
feathers are fluffier. Mr. Richardson and I measured the wingspan
of this eagle. It measured exactly five feet (60 inches) from
wingtip to wingtip.
A Note from Mr. Larson
Dear Kevin:
You should look closely at the immature eagle's talons. What beautiful equipment to go fishing with. The eagle swoops down on an unsuspecting fish, grabs it across the back with its big sharp hooks and flies away to its nest.
The eagle you are interested in was probably learning to do just that when, sad to say again, it was shot somewhere up the Lowe River. This beautiful young bird must not have wanted to die because it kept flying until its heart gave out over the small boat harbor. It folded up its wings and fell to the ground. I don't believe the hunter was ever caught by the Fish & Game officer.
If you look at the eagle skeleton hanging from the middle of the mobile, you will see what the eagle looks like inside. When he was alive he weighed about 15 pounds, and his wings were long enough to fit from the floor to the top of your classroom door. Maybe someday you will become a Fish & Game officer and help keep such unhappy happenings from going on. -Mr. Larson
Would you like to see 16 Bald Eagles in one clump of trees? This rare happening took place right in the middle of town in April of 2000.
During the winter of 2000-2001, it is estimated that between 50 to 60 Bald Eagles congreated within the Valdez city limits. These photos were added to the site during that period.
Click here to see more Valdez Eagles!
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