Eagles

Threats to Eagles

Habitat Loss

Deforestation

While most deforestation globally is committed by the livestock industry to make way for grazing and livestock feed. Countries like Canada also experience large amounts of deforestation done in the name of toilet paper and (sometimes) for hydroelectric projects.

Eagles need large, sturdy trees for nesting, so deforestation, especially of old-growth forests is particularly devastating for them.

Fire & Wildfires

As the climate gets hotter and drier, forest are under increased pressure from fires. 

Hunting & Fishing

Both of these practices impact eagles as fewer fish means less food. Both "sports" also introduce a dangerous amount of lead into the wilderness.

Fishing

In addition to lowering fish populations, lead used in fishing equipment is often lost in the process. This can slowly leach into the environment over time, or cause more severe damage if swallowed by wild animals, especially since apex predators at elevated risk of bioaccumulating more heavy metals every time they eat.

Hunting

Though hunting the birds themselves is illegal, hunters who use lead bullets have been linked to lead poisoning in eagles, which leaves them with neurological issues that prevent them from flying.

U.S. Bald Eagle Population Being Threatened by Lead Poisoning

2:38 minute video about the rise of lead poisoning affecting many birds of prey including bald eagles, vultures, hawks, and owls.

Illegal Persecution

"The history of raptor-killing in Scotland has been traced back to the 15th century although it is not considered to have begun in earnest until the late 1700s with the rapid expansion of sheep farming (Lovegrove 2007). Alongside the popularity of game bird hunting in the 1800s (and particularly red grouse hunting, a sporting tradition peculiar to the UK), most raptor species were considered to be ‘vermin’ and a significant threat to sheep and game bird survival. As such, legal predator control was permitted during this period and landowners encouraged their shepherds and gamekeepers to eradicate as many raptors as possible (Anonymous 2000). Other groups were also involved in legal raptor persecution, either directly (e.g. skin collectors – during the Victorian era it was fashionable to display stuffed birds as decorative conversation pieces in drawing rooms and parlours; Mearns and Mearns 1998) or indirectly (e.g. egg collectors; Cole and Trobe 2000).

The most direct methods used for legal persecution included poisoning, trapping, shooting and nest destruction. Their combined effect resulted in dire consequences for many raptor populations. By the early 1900s, several species had become extinct in Scotland including the white-tailed eagle (Love 1983), goshawk (Marquiss and Newton 1982), red kite (Evans et al. 1997) and osprey (Brown and Waterston 1962). Other species in Scotland managed to avoid extinction but suffered severe range contraction as a direct result of persecution, including the hen harrier (Watson 1977), peregrine (Ratcliffe 1993), golden eagle (Watson 1997) and buzzard (Tubbs 1974).

Poisoning, specifically the setting of poison baits in the open, was first outlawed by the Protection of Animals (Scotland) Act in 1912, although this legislation did not include legal protection for birds. The legal persecution of raptors (including poisoning, trapping and shooting) was not prohibited until the introduction of the Protection of Birds Act in 1954. Following a change in society’s perception of raptors over the following 50 years, several raptor recovery projects took place in Scotland, i.e. white-tailed sea eagle reintroduction (Love 1983) and red kite reintroduction (Evans et al. 1997). Further legislation to protect raptors was also introduced during this period, including a complex array of Scottish, UK and European-specific laws. These afforded raptor species the high level of legal protection they now have today, making it an offence to poison, shoot, trap, destroy nests or recklessly or deliberately interfere with a nesting raptor. However, such legal protection is only effective if it is properly policed and enforced with adequate resources. A suite of scientific peer-reviewed studies has demonstrated unequivocally that illegal persecution continues and that it occurs disproportionately on land managed as grouse moor (Whitfield et al. 2003). For example, populations of golden eagles (Whitfield et al. 2004a; 2004b; 2007; 2008; Watson 2013), hen harriers (Etheridge et al. 1997; Fielding et al. 2011), goshawks (Marquiss et al. 2003); peregrines (Hardey et al. 2003) and red kites (Smart et al. 2010) are all severely constrained in parts of Scotland as a direct result of illegal persecution. The most commonly used methods are still poisoning, shooting, trapping and nest destruction."  - Scottish Raptor Study Group: Illegal Persecution: A National Disgrace

Solutions

Conservation & Rewilding

Monitoring

Legal Protections & Enforcement

Diet

Eagles both hunt and scavenge, helping to clean up the environment and prevent the spread of diseases.

Fish

Fish are the primary food of bald eagles.

Small Mammals

Muskrats

Prairie Dogs

Squirrels

Resources

North America

Canada

Ontario

Organizations

International

Europe

Scotland

North America

Canada

USA

Alaska

Minnesota

Tennessee

Maps

North America

USA

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