The Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) inhabits aquatic ecosystems such as estuaries, large lakes, reservoirs, major rivers, and some seacoast habitats. It feeds primarily on fish, waterfowl, and carrion. Habitat loss, illegal shooting, and food contamination with DDT and other chemicals, however, caused precipitous declines in Bald Eagle populations throughout much of the conterminous United States during the 19th and much of the 20th century (Johnsgaard 1990, Federal Register 1999). By the 1970’s, the Bald Eagle was considered a rare to uncommon winter visitor in the Tennessee Valley, an area where it once bred and was considered common (Imhof 1976). With the ban of DDT, federal protection, and recovery programs, Bald Eagle populations have increased and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service has recently proposed that it be taken off the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife (Federal Register 1999).
Author: Thomas M. Haggerty, Paul D. Kittle, and M. Keith Hudson
Volume Number: 45 Year Published: 1999
Issue Number: 2
Page Number: 21
Link to article: http://birdlife.aosbirds.org/1999/Vol 45 No 2 1999_21-26.pdf
Link to the full issue of BirdLife: http://birdlife.aosbirds.org/1999/Vol 45 No 2 1999.pdf
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