The average weight of a female Bald Eagle is 10-14 pounds, however, this can vary depending on where an eagle is from. Generally, males weigh about 25% less than females from the same area.

Southern Bald Eagles tend to be smaller than those in the northern parts of their range. For example in Alaska, females might weigh up to 18 pounds, whereas eagles in Florida can weigh as little as six to eight pounds.

The scientific name of a Bald Eagle is Haliaeetus leucocephalus.
Haliaeetus means “member of the sea” or “fish eagle group.”
Leucocephalus means white head (leuco=white, cephalus = head).

Bald Eagles and other cold-weather birds have special circulation in their feet and legs that allow them to withstand very cold temperatures.

Their legs and feet also have little soft tissue, so they don’t require as much warm blood flow. When they need a quick warm-up, they can tuck one foot up against their body, underneath all those warm, down feathers. This makes for a great way to warm up the toes.

Bald Eagles do not dive into the water but rather skim across the top catching fish near the surface. During salmon runs in Alaska, Bald Eagles have been observed standing on the shoreline and pouncing on salmon as the fish swims into shallow water.

If a Bald Eagle catches a fish that is too heavy to lift, it may grasp the fish with its talons and use its wings like oars to swim to shore.

There is data to suggest that pairs may not migrate together. Rather, each eagle will return to the nest and territory that they have used successfully in previous years. Generally, juveniles migrate prior to the adults departing.

The average size is four to five feet in diameter and two to four feet deep. Eagles’ nests grow each year as they often return to the same nest with about one foot of material to add.

The largest known Bald Eagle nest was nine feet across and 21 feet deep.

In the 1950s, a chemical known as DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) was introduced as a widespread insecticide to prevent the spread of malaria.

DDT was often used in waterways and consumed by insects, which made their way up the food chain to eagles. The amount of DDT consumed by eagles was enough to interfere with the processing of calcium and resulted in deformed and thin eggshells.

Female Bald Eagles would lay eggs, and crush them with their body weight. Because bald eagles breed only once per year and have a low reproductive rate, the Bald Eagle population declined steeply throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

Only 50 percent of eaglets reach one year of age. Some die from falls, starvation, or siblicide.

Once fledged, many eagles die from impact injuries, starvation, disease, shooting, poisoning, and electrocution.

Lead poisoning is a common cause of injury and is most often fatal. Bald Eagles can get lead poisoning from gut piles left behind by hunters, who assume other animals appreciate the leftovers. However, the smallest fragments of lead bullets in the gut pile are enough to cause severe neurological issues or kill an eagle within days.

The Raptor Center of the University of Minnesota has found that about 25-28% of eagles admitted for rehabilitation in the last forty years have had lead in their system.