New Hampshire wildlife fact sheets -Bald Eagle

(Courtesy of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department - www.wildnh.com)

Bald Eagle Description
Bald eagles are at least 3 feet tall, with a wing span of 6-8 feet.
Females can weigh as much as 14 pounds; males weigh 7-10 pounds.
The body and wings vary from dark brown to black. At 4 years of
age they acquire the white head and tail. Their eyes are pale yellow
and the powerful beak and unfeathered feet are bright yellow. Immatures
are dark brown with varying amounts of white or buff depending on
their age. They have brown eyes, a black beak, and yellow feet.

Range and Distribution
All of North America was once a breeding
ground for the species. Bald eagles are re-colonizing their historic
range from Alaska and Canada south to Florida and southern California.
Concentrations of eagles occur in Florida, the Chesapeake Bay, the
Mississippi River Valley, and the Pacific Northwest.

In New Hampshire, one pair began nesting again
in 1989 on Lake Umbagog, after a 40-year absence. In 1998, another
territorial pair established a nest on Nubanusit Lake in Hancock
(in the Monadnock Region). In May, 1999, eggs hatched in that nest.
Although that nest failed in mid-June, biologists hope the same
pair will try again next year, possible at the same nest.

Bald eagles are observed each winter in the Androscoggin,
Connecticut and Merrimack River Valleys, on Great Bay, and in the
Lakes Region. Non-breeding adults and immatures are observed sporadically
throughout the state year-round.

Habits and Habitats
Bald eagles are strong and steady in flight. Slow flapping,
soaring for long distances with wings flat, and circling high in
the sky are characteristic.

Bald Eagle Chicks Eagles
can breed when 4-6 years old, but may not breed until much older.
Eagles mate for life and may live up to 30 years. When courting,
males and females soar side by side, lock talons and free fall through
the air. Eagles defend their territories more than 112 mile from
the nest.

In
New Hampshire, bald eagles occur in relatively undisturbed forests
along major rivers and lakes or near the coast. Eagles perch on,
hunt from, and nest on tall coniferous and deciduous trees or snags
near water. They prey primarily on fish and waterfowl, but are also
noted for their scavenging. In the Northeast white pine are the
most common nest trees, although oak, ash, elm, maple, beech and
hickory trees, snags, and artificial platforms are used in some
parts of their range.

In winter, they leave the breeding areas and
congregate in areas with large expanses of unfrozen, open water.
A forest stand that offers protection from inclement winter weather
is needed for communal night roosting. Night roosts are most often
found near foraging areas, but may be further away if the roost
is more protected.

Nests are built 5-30 feet below the top of tall,
open trees near the water’s edge. Nests, 5 feet wide and 3 feet
deep, are made of large sticks and lined with pine needles, leaves,
grasses, and feathers. Pairs often reuse and add on to the nest
each year. Both parents incubate the eggs.

Status
Bald eagles are listed as endangered in New Hampshire and threatened
in the United States.

Management
To maintain and expand the state’s bald
eagle population, it’s essential to protect eagle breeding, roosting,
and wintering areas. Management agreements, conservation easements,
and land acquisitions have been used with public and private landowners
to protect some of these areas in New Hampshire.

Foresters, landowners, and other land
managers can follow these specific recommendations:

Protect and maintain remaining undeveloped
shorelines on major water bodies.
Maintain large trees, particularly
large white pines, along shorelines of large rivers, lakes and
estuaries, for perching, nesting and roosting.
Winter roost sites are typically located
near foraging areas. These roosts are characterized by large
diameter white pines spaced far apart. This allows easy access
into the roost yet provides sufficient overhead cover to protect
against inclement weather. Roost trees often face east on a
>20° slope.
Establish a 1,320-foot (20 chain)
buffer zone around a nest. Maintain all potential nest and perch
trees within this buffer. Within a 330 foot (5 chain) radius
of the nest, avoid any human disturbance unless it’s essential
to protect the site. In the 330-660 foot zone, single tree selection
and small patch cuts are okay if harvesting is done outside
the nesting season which is February-August.
Other forestry practices are okay
in the 660-1,320 foot outer zone as long as the nesting season
is avoided.

What should I
do if I see a bald eagle? Bald Eagle in Flight
During the spring and fall migrations,
adult and immature bald eagles are regularly observed throughout
the state. Although these sightings are interesting, it’s most important
to report observations of regular eagle activity. If you observe
eagle breeding or roosting behavior, record the time, date, where
you observed the bird, what it was doing, and a description of its
feather coloration (plumage). Note the direction of flight if it
flies away and any other significant observations. Information may
be sent to N.H. Fish and Game Department, Nongame and Endangered
Wildlife Program, 11 Hazen Drive, Concord, NH 03301. To volunteer
for the Wintering Bald Eagle Monitoring Project contact Audubon
Society of New Hampshire, 3 Silk Farm Road, Concord, NH 03301 or
call (603) 224-9909. Eagle observations can also be left on a voice
mailbox at (603) 224-9909 ext. 354.

Credits

University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension
New Hampshire Fish and Game Department
Audubon Society of New Hampshire
U.S. Forest Service
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
New Hampshire Natural Heritage Inventory

UNH Cooperative Extension
programs and policies are consistent with pertinent Federal and State laws and
regulations on non-descrimination regarding age, color, disability, national origin,
race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or veteran’s status. College of Life Sciences
and Agriculture, County Governments, N.H. Division of Forests and Lands, Department
of Resources and Economic Development, N.H. Fish and Game Department, U.S. Department
of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services cooperating.