882 views/31 faves/22 Jan 2011

Camera Details: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi, 55-255mm Zoom Lens, Aperture exp 8.6, Shutter speed 1/400, ISO 100
Focal Length 125mm.

Location: Taken in the Assiniboine Park eagle enclosure in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

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The Bald Eagle… Haliaeetus Leacocephalus

In 1872, when the Bald Eagle, was chosen as the symbol of the United states, Benjamin Franklin initially protested. He considered this eagle “a bird of bad moral character”, and recommended that the young nation adopt the Wild Turkey instead. The Bald Eagle once bred throughout North America, but its numbers have declined severely due to pesticide poisoning. Today some of these pesticides have been banned, and they are making a modest comeback.

Identification: 30-43 inches. Very large, brown, hawklike bird with a white head, tail and stout, hooked yellow beak. Immatures variable with a dark head and tail witha black bill.

Voice; A series of squeaky, thin cackling or chittering notes.

Habitant: Seacoasts, lakes, rivers, and marshes.

Range: Breeds in the forested areas of Alaska and Canada south to Oregon, N.Idaho, Great Lakes area and N. New England: generally along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and in Florida. Winters from S. Canada south, especially along the major river systems of the interior.

Info gleaned from The Audubon Society Field Guide.