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Bald Eagle
Haliaeetus leucocephalus
The recovery of the bald eagle is
a North American conservation success story. The eagle has
emerged from an era of reproductive failure mostly from exposure
to DDT that soon will occupy its former range. But even though
the bald eagle is one of the most identifiable birds in the
world, there is much we do not know about its ecology. Along the
north Pacific Coast, the eagle is one of the most striking and
widespread birds. And we think it plays an important ecological
role as a predator and scavenger. Its life cycle is closely
intertwined with salmon that form a mainstay of its diet. Our
research at PWLF is focussing on the behaviour and ecology of
the eagle.
The bald eagle resides year round
on the north Pacific Coast from southern Alaska to northern
California. It is a particularly abundant species along the
shore of British Columbia and Alaska. Bald eagles breeds across
North America from Alaska to Labrador south to northern
California, Wyoming, Minnesota and central Ontario (Buehler
2000). Moreover, isolated populations are scattered across most
of the USA and populations are now more or less continuous along
the Gulf and southeast States. In winter, the bald eagle
migrates south of much of Canada and interior of Alaska. The
Pacific coast population resides year-round in the region
although they disperse in search of food, especially spawning
salmon. Two subspecies are recognized but not without
controversy (Buehler 2000); the northern subspecies H. l.
alascanus is larger than the southern subspecies H. l.
leucocephalus. |
