Regal Eagle

This magnificant Bald Eagle gave me a piercing regal eagle stare-down and screech as I captured this detailed portrait shot.

Scientific name – Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Lifespan – 20 years
Size – 28 – 40 in
Weight – 6.6 and 13.9 lb
Wingspan – 5 ft 11 in and 7 ft 7 in

The Bald Eagle is a sea eagle. It has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), which occupies the same niche as the bald eagle. Its range includes most of Canada and Alaska, all of the contiguous United States, and northern Mexico. It is found near large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply and old-growth trees for nesting.

The bald eagle is an opportunistic feeder which subsists mainly on fish, which it swoops down upon and snatches from the water with its talons. It builds the largest nest of any North American bird and the largest tree nests ever recorded for any animal species, up to (13 ft deep, 8 ft wide, and 1 metric ton in weight. Sexual maturity is attained at the age of four to five years.

The bald eagle is the national bird of the U.S. and the most common eagle encountered in Florida. It is a large, striking sea eagle with its characteristic white head and tail and dark body plumage. Its piercing eyes, large hooked bill, and powerful feet are bright yellow, and it has long, sharp talons. Typical of sea eagles, the bald eagle has featherless legs.

Bald eagles are, in fact, not bald. The name is derived from the old English word “balde” which means white in reference to the color of its head and tail feathers.

Florida has one of the densest concentrations of nesting bald eagles in the lower 48 states, with an estimated 1,500 nesting pairs. Concentrations of nesting territories are clustered around several significant lake, river, and coastal systems throughout the state.

The bald eagle was removed from the USFWS endangered species list and the FWC imperiled species list in 2007 and 2008, respectively. The bald eagle continues to be protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, along with the state bald eagle rule (68A-16.002, F.A.C.).
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