Bald Eagle Fishing

This majestic bald eagle swooped down over our lake with open talons, successfully catching a large bass, near the water surface, for lunch.
Eagles have 4 talons (and toes) on each foot, a hallux talon at the back of the foot that faces front, and 3 toes on the front of the foot where the talons face toward the back. The hallux talon is always longer than the other regular talons. About half the size of a human hand, and covered in thick, knobbly skin, they're one of an eagle's deadliest weapons, able to exert up to 400 psi, pr pounds per square inch. (That's ten times the grip strength of an average adult human.) In order to grasp and carry live fish, eagles need strong legs and toes, and a powerful grip. Eagles have talons and no feathers on their legs. Eagles do not because they prey on fish; feathers on the legs would drag on them, slowing them down.
The hallux talon is always longer than the other regular talons. And in females, this talon is longer than in males. As a matter of fact, that is one way we tell the gender of bald eagles, by measuring the hallux talon, as the females is longer than the males. These hallux talons are almost 2 inches long on large, female eagles, and only about an inch and a quarter on small males.



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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