Eagles
Table of Contents
Introduction
Eagles are apex predators who rely mostly on fish to survive, but also hunt other animals.
They are under pressure from habitat loss including deforestation, wild fires, various types of poisoning (including lead poisoning), and climate change.
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
Climate Change
Solutions
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
Rabbits
Squirrels
Resources
North America
Canada
Ontario
Bald Eagle Management Plan "This document advises the ministry on ways to ensure healthy numbers of Bald Eagle, a species of special concern, return to Ontario."
What You Can Do (PDF)
Organizations
International
The Eagle Nature Foundation, Ltd. (ENF) "is an international, non-profit, 501(c)3 tax-exempt, organization, which develops and implements habitat preservation strategies for endangered species, conducts a wide variety of nature education and awareness programs, engages in and supports bald eagle research, conducts fund-raising drives to preserve endangered species' habitats, and provides funds for monitoring efforts.
In addition to helping to save habitat, ENF is developing a nationwide program of publicity about the bald eagle and other endangered species to make the American public aware of the plight of our national symbol and the need to preserve the wilderness it requires to survive."
Europe
Scotland
Scottish Raptor Study Group "Monitoring and conserving Scotland's birds of prey"
The South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project "Helping Reinforce The Population Of One Of Scotland’s Iconic Species, The Golden Eagle, In The South Of Scotland."
North America
Canada
The Rocky Mountain Eagle Research Foundation "is a non-profit organization, registered in the Province of Alberta, with Canadian charitable status. The Foundation is dedicated to the study of migrant and resident eagles and other birds of prey in the mountains of Western Canada.
In addition to its scientific work, the Foundation is committed to educating people about birds of prey. This will help protect birds and their prey foods and habitats for the future."
USA
The American Bald Eagle Foundation "Conserving bald eagles and their habitat through empowering education for all ages"
The Eagle Nature Foundation, Ltd. (ENF) "is an international, non-profit, 501(c)3 tax-exempt, organization, which develops and implements habitat preservation strategies for endangered species, conducts a wide variety of nature education and awareness programs, engages in and supports bald eagle research, conducts fund-raising drives to preserve endangered species' habitats, and provides funds for monitoring efforts.
In addition to helping to save habitat, ENF is developing a nationwide program of publicity about the bald eagle and other endangered species to make the American public aware of the plight of our national symbol and the need to preserve the wilderness it requires to survive."
Alaska
Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (AWCC) "Most of the animals that have come to AWCC have either been orphaned or injured. With consent from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, animals taken in by AWCC are cared for by our animal care staff and are given a permanent home at AWCC."
Minnesota
National Eagle Center "Located in Wabasha, Minnesota, we’re home to several non-releasable Bald Eagles and a nesting place for hundreds of others who come for the winter."
Tennessee
American Eagle Foundation "AEF cares for over 70 non-releasable raptors and other birds daily, including the world’s largest collection of non-releasable Bald Eagles who reside in Eagle Mountain Sanctuary. These birds are non-releasable due to permanent physical disabilities or human imprinting/socialization."