See a Bald Eagle in Lake Mead NRA

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There’s a reason our national bird is the bald eagle. Besides being striking, with a giant wing span and characteristic white head, they are very interesting raptors. For one, they only live in North America. Lucky us, right? Also, bald eagles hold the record for the world’s largest bird’s nest. And they live a very long time. Last year, a wild eagle in Henrietta, New York, died at a record age of 38. What’s even more amazing: Bald eagles mate for life. They couple up when they are only four or five, so that’s a lot of Valentine’s Days together! A few more fun facts about bald eagles: Young eagles aren’t bald. Adult eagles aren’t really either, but the young bald eagle has a brown-feathered head. When you hear a bald eagle’s cry in a movie, you’re likely not hearing a bald eagle at all. The cry of the bald eagle is so weak, kinda like a high-pitched giggle, that Hollywood often dubs over their call with the more iconic red tailed hawk scream. Lastly, you probably won’t believe it, but we almost lost our iconic national bird to extinction. In the 1960s, a chemical called DDT took the lower 48 bald eagle population down to 471 mating pairs. After banning the chemical, there are now over 9,700 mating pairs in the continental US! Lake Mead National Recreation Area is home to more than 100 bald eagles! They can be seen in the park every winter.

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