Canada says "you're welcome". (Quite some time ago US and Canadian researchers worked to trap and transport eagles from northern Canada, where there will still several thousand; those birds helped restore the population in the contiguous states.)
I've not been able to find sources to indicate the bird's conservation status in Canada at that time. As far as I can tell, every mention of the birds being on the verge of extinction should always be followed by "in the US".
They were not even endangered in the US but in the contiguous US. There was always a large population in Alaska such that people were paid to cull them.
Many "endangered" animals in the US are not endangered in the sense of extinction but in the sense that they are leaving some part of their native range. They are often "endangered in $LOCALE", not endangered generally.
Canada may say "you're welcome", but does the US say "thanks"? Not under the current administration! Ok, they might care about the bald eagle, but other than that, Republican economic interests (real or imagined) will always trump (heh) environmental concerns:
Even here in Canada it's been amazing to see them return to areas where they were gone (southern Ontario, etc). There's a population of them now in Coote's Paradise here in Hamilton. Apparently after a 50 year absence.
Here in Oregon we have a lot of them, but it never gets old seeing them! We usually see at least a couple on our way to the coast from Portland. Earlier this week, my wife and I saw a mating pair fly high over this field by our house and spiral down towards the ground, holding talons. It was amazing, they are huge incredible birds. I’m so glad to live somewhere that has lots of public land and habitat preservation so my family can enjoy the clean air, water, skies, and trees, as can all of the wildlife we have.
In Astoria, Oregon on Wireless road you can find nearly 100 in a tree. I'm not sure why they are in such high numbers, but you can often see them scavenging fields where seafood waste (shells) are dumped.
We have them on Long Island (New York). There's a pair that live in Centerport (a fairly well-to-do neighborhood, nearby), that even have their own Facebook group.
They eat eels. Lots of eels.
I understand they are fairly numerous, up the Hudson Valley.
I'm jealous, I think I've only ever seen one at a zoo twenty years ago. I think they're extremely cool looking birds, I would love to see one in the wild, but they don't appear to hang out much in NYC.
We have hundreds here that gather on the same river to catch salmon in the fall. It’s a big tourist attraction. Glad to hear they are thriving down south as well.
I'm 66 years old and never saw a Bald Eagle until I was in my 30s. That was near St. Louis along the Mississippi River. Where I live now (the Ozarks) they're common to see and have been for over 30 years. Some years ago I was camping out here on a lake shore and early in the morning there was a pair of Bald eagles sitting together on a limb on the other side of the lake. I couldn't help but stand there and stare at them. After a bit one of them took off and started flying right toward me, and when it got to my side of the lake it swooped down and pick up a dead branch off the shore line and then turn at me, flapped it's wings a couple time and then threw it at me! Then it flew right back to where its mate was and sat back down next it. I couldn't help but think they were both laughing at me.
Last year, about this time of year, I saw my first Golden Eagle. It was trying to snatch one of my hens. Those are truly amazing. By far the biggest bird I've ever seen. And to be so close to it too. I wasn't more than 12ft from it. I waved my arms and screamed at it and it finally let go of the hen and took off. As it took off I saw there was a "murder" of crows sitting in the trees watching us, at least 30-40 of them, and the eagle took off heading their way. As soon as it got close to the them they all took off chasing it, dive bombing it and cawing like mad!
It's truly great to see them, but my experience is you can't trust them.
I only rarely saw a bald eagle until I moved into a river house a few years back.
That river was one I'd fished since I was a kid. What I've seen has been amazing, all up - the river is far more full of bigger and healthier fish than it ever has been. The birds I've seen along the river have been of a much wider variety, including plenty of Bald Eagles (but also a massive population of red tail hawks, turkey vultures, cranes, storks, herons, etc.). In the spring we get flocks of pelicans coming through the last few years! Pelicans! Occasionally, I get to see an eagle or hawk snatch a fish out of the water.
It's really been amazing to see. It's not all good news - you can't leave small pets unattended outside. We got a ~40lb dog instead of a smaller one because of this.
I don't know if it's just because I grew up with American media that made them seem badass, but the first time I saw one up in Maine I was blown away. It looked so stoic. Also very intimidating for someone going on a hike.
I thought the dang thing was gonna rip me to shreds. But it just looked me over for about 10 seconds and then rendezvoused with an older eagle over the Connecticut River.
In 90's I saw bald eagles for the first time (I mostly grew up in DFW, TX) in the Mississippi Valley between WI and Iowa, later in backbone ridge state park, where the valleys are so steep the eagles are flying below you when you're on a spur. It was amazing to me because, as a child in the 70's and 80's we were always hearing about DDT and endangered eagles. Fast forward ~30 years from the early 90's (after a long stint in Canada) I've moved to semi-rural Wisconsin and I see eagles monthly, and closeup (I see red-tail hawks daily, Cooper hawks weekly - one killed one of my chickens last fall), pheasants weekly and sandhill cranes for months every year.
Seems like the conservation efforts for eagles actually worked, and I can't be more pleased.
(Hey, I like birds, ok? I even kept a log with my partner for a while of all the birds we were able to identify at our Bir feeders and on walks).
You may find it interesting that DFW has a nesting pair of eagles that got blown down in a storm and stuck around. What's doubly interesting is that the same area has flocks of parrots that are also thriving.
I remember going on a boat ride to a hotsprings cove on the Pacific side of Vancouver island, and seeing 50+ bald eagles in a small bay flying around a fishing boat. At the time I still thought bald eagles were endangered. They're pretty common in Vancouver, especially near the water, but on occasion I've also seen very large groups flying over land
I pretty much see them on a daily basis in the Driftless Area of Wisconsin and Illinois these days, which is great because I don't think I had one sighting for the first 30 or so years of my life.
Going fishing in Canada, fishermen will just smack a walleye in the noggin with an oar, knocking it senseless, and throw it in the water a few yards from the boat. Eagles will just swoop down and grab it. Pretty interesting way to get up close an personal.
There are at least 5 nesting within a mile of my house, and I live within the city limits. It's just a joy seeing them float overhead. One time I was walking down the street and one came gliding along the street at eye level. I could have reached out and touched its wingtip. Wingtip to wingtip, it's gigantic.
But my, the look on its face! It's a pure predator. No wonder fighter pilots like to paint eagles on their birds. I sure wouldn't want to get in a scrap with one.
I had no idea how big owls were, either, until one sat on the porch railing staring at me. Glad I was bigger than the owl.
It's not a good neighborhood for outdoor cats and small dogs.
I see bald eagles pretty regularly on the south side of Chicago in an old industrial site that is being redeveloped as a wilderness area and bike park.
The first time one flew over me pretty low was a very reptile brain moment.
The first time I saw a bald eagle was about a mile's walk into the woods (no paths), in a marshy area in a northeastern state forest.
We surprised each other, and all I could do is stare, stunned, while s/he took flight about 20 yards in front of me.
Now granted, I was about 15 and had grown up with all the iconography and mythology, but I felt instantly that that bird earned it all. S/he was enormous and beautiful and majestic in a way that I had never seen before in a wild animal. (And rarely since!)
Made me think that, to the great majority of species, humans are just an unwelcome out-of-control infestation on the planet. Yes, we have some redeeming qualities, but they are not often on display to these animals. :)
When I was a kid growing up in eastern Kentucky, I went on a hike through isolated country about five or ten miles from home. Was way up on what was basically a small mountain and saw a bald eagle circle overhead. Naturally, I told everybody, but they thought I was lying or an idiot. Now nobody would have any reason to doubt it. Amazing to witness such a comeback in our own lifetimes!
Growing up in Buffalo New York, I only once as a kid saw one flying while on a camping trip in a remote state park. Now, you see one almost every day on the coastline of lake Erie. They are so much bigger than other birds that you will notice even if you are not on the lookout. Their scale is astounding compared to sea gulls.
They have also come back to the Potomac and Washington DC which is nice.
The changes made to help Bald Eagles have had a positive effect on all raptors - we have had a big uptick in Coopers Hawks, with several nesting in our area. They are territorial and relatively long lived so we have names for the ones we see most often. An environment that can support apex predators is generally a pretty good one!
They are technically classified as "Least Concern" now; at the bottom of the chart right alongside seagulls and pigeons. Not even threatened anymore. As well as the fact that being an apex predator means countless other (less charismatic) species
and ecosystems had to have been saved to make it happen. What an accomplishment.
In Orange County, specifically Santa Ana CA, my grandfather had built a house with the help of his 2 brothers back in the 50s. A bald eagle would land in the backyard almost every year in July as some sort of stop along a migratory path. I first saw it when I was 7 and it was at least as big as me.
I took over the property from 2011ish to 2018 in my late 30s and I never saw another. Glad they are still there.
I grew up in New England in the 70s and 80s and never saw one - we were told that they were nearly wiped out in the lower 48 by illegal hunting and poisoning via DDT or some other substance that they ingested through poisoned prey.
I saw my first one about 25 years ago outside our office building that overlooked a partially frozen reservoir. Some ducks or geese were clustered in an open patch of water, and then boom! The eagle came down. It ate the waterfowl on the edge of the ice, staining it red with blood and gore.
Now they are common, especially near rivers or lakes. One regularly perches on the neighbor's giant fir that towers over our house. They are huge.
It's kind of crazy going to a port in Alaska where they're nearly as common as seagulls scavenging cast offs from the fishing industry. A few is amazing and majestic a dozen or more just looks silly.
[+] [-] PeterWhittaker|1 year ago|reply
I've not been able to find sources to indicate the bird's conservation status in Canada at that time. As far as I can tell, every mention of the birds being on the verge of extinction should always be followed by "in the US".
[+] [-] jandrewrogers|1 year ago|reply
Many "endangered" animals in the US are not endangered in the sense of extinction but in the sense that they are leaving some part of their native range. They are often "endangered in $LOCALE", not endangered generally.
[+] [-] rob74|1 year ago|reply
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-yearslong-war-de...
[+] [-] cmrdporcupine|1 year ago|reply
https://www.rbg.ca/plants-conservation/nature-sanctuaries/co...
[+] [-] __turbobrew__|1 year ago|reply
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[+] [-] lukevp|1 year ago|reply
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[+] [-] ChrisMarshallNY|1 year ago|reply
They eat eels. Lots of eels.
I understand they are fairly numerous, up the Hudson Valley.
[+] [-] tombert|1 year ago|reply
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[+] [-] oblib|1 year ago|reply
Last year, about this time of year, I saw my first Golden Eagle. It was trying to snatch one of my hens. Those are truly amazing. By far the biggest bird I've ever seen. And to be so close to it too. I wasn't more than 12ft from it. I waved my arms and screamed at it and it finally let go of the hen and took off. As it took off I saw there was a "murder" of crows sitting in the trees watching us, at least 30-40 of them, and the eagle took off heading their way. As soon as it got close to the them they all took off chasing it, dive bombing it and cawing like mad!
It's truly great to see them, but my experience is you can't trust them.
[+] [-] RajT88|1 year ago|reply
That river was one I'd fished since I was a kid. What I've seen has been amazing, all up - the river is far more full of bigger and healthier fish than it ever has been. The birds I've seen along the river have been of a much wider variety, including plenty of Bald Eagles (but also a massive population of red tail hawks, turkey vultures, cranes, storks, herons, etc.). In the spring we get flocks of pelicans coming through the last few years! Pelicans! Occasionally, I get to see an eagle or hawk snatch a fish out of the water.
It's really been amazing to see. It's not all good news - you can't leave small pets unattended outside. We got a ~40lb dog instead of a smaller one because of this.
[+] [-] jjice|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] m463|1 year ago|reply
crows making noise are a surefire way to find out anything going on in the woods.
except once I found a silent crow, but a bluejay squawking - the crow was stealing from the bluejay's nest.
[+] [-] neolefty|1 year ago|reply
Suddenly a life lesson.
> ... it finally let go of the hen and took off.
How was the hen afterwards?
[+] [-] techterrier|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] busyant|1 year ago|reply
About 2 years ago, a juvenile baldie landed on a pier 4.0 meters from me (according to my camera sensor).
https://photos.app.goo.gl/6cUhtJggrVn5KakX6
I thought the dang thing was gonna rip me to shreds. But it just looked me over for about 10 seconds and then rendezvoused with an older eagle over the Connecticut River.
[+] [-] munificent|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] mschuster91|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] apercu|1 year ago|reply
Seems like the conservation efforts for eagles actually worked, and I can't be more pleased.
(Hey, I like birds, ok? I even kept a log with my partner for a while of all the birds we were able to identify at our Bir feeders and on walks).
[+] [-] tempoponet|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] pfdietz|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] srdesigner|1 year ago|reply
I lived on a mountain in NC with the hacking falcons and in a wildlife refuge in NC on the coast for the eagles.
Great memories feeding and tracking the fledglings.
[+] [-] tinyplanets|1 year ago|reply
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[+] [-] WalterBright|1 year ago|reply
But my, the look on its face! It's a pure predator. No wonder fighter pilots like to paint eagles on their birds. I sure wouldn't want to get in a scrap with one.
I had no idea how big owls were, either, until one sat on the porch railing staring at me. Glad I was bigger than the owl.
It's not a good neighborhood for outdoor cats and small dogs.
[+] [-] kasey_junk|1 year ago|reply
The first time one flew over me pretty low was a very reptile brain moment.
[+] [-] YesBox|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] quesera|1 year ago|reply
We surprised each other, and all I could do is stare, stunned, while s/he took flight about 20 yards in front of me.
Now granted, I was about 15 and had grown up with all the iconography and mythology, but I felt instantly that that bird earned it all. S/he was enormous and beautiful and majestic in a way that I had never seen before in a wild animal. (And rarely since!)
Made me think that, to the great majority of species, humans are just an unwelcome out-of-control infestation on the planet. Yes, we have some redeeming qualities, but they are not often on display to these animals. :)
[+] [-] Exoristos|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] pbmango|1 year ago|reply
They have also come back to the Potomac and Washington DC which is nice.
[+] [-] EncomLab|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] ramesh31|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] mgas|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] Supermancho|1 year ago|reply
I took over the property from 2011ish to 2018 in my late 30s and I never saw another. Glad they are still there.
[+] [-] czk|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] ilamont|1 year ago|reply
I saw my first one about 25 years ago outside our office building that overlooked a partially frozen reservoir. Some ducks or geese were clustered in an open patch of water, and then boom! The eagle came down. It ate the waterfowl on the edge of the ice, staining it red with blood and gore.
Now they are common, especially near rivers or lakes. One regularly perches on the neighbor's giant fir that towers over our house. They are huge.
[+] [-] rtkwe|1 year ago|reply