Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

County List:

Rule:

Forested or Mixed Forested/Nonforested Landscapes

Nesting and Foraging Habitat Requirements may be distributed over the NEIGHBORHOOD

Nesting Habitat 1st alternative:
      (Any Upland Deciduous (Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
      or (Swamp Hardwoods (Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
      or (Balsam Poplar&Swamp Aspen&Swamp Birch (Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
   containing: 
      Conifer Inclusions
   adjacent to:
      (Lake or River)

Nesting Habitat 2nd alternative:
      or (Hemlock (Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
      or (Red Pine (Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
      or (White Pine (Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
      or (Any Upland Mixed (Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
      or (Any Lowland Mixed (Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
   adjacent to:
      (Lake or River)

Foraging Habitat:
      Lake
      or River

Habitat List:

view size class definitions

Literature:

Habitat: Bald Eagles nest near seacoasts, lakes, and large rivers. They require a reliable food supply and large trees for nesting. The food base is usually in the form of good-sized fish, taken alive; however, waterfowl and other birds, mammals up to about rabbit size, and a wide variety of carrion are also taken.

Eagle nests are large. A wide variety of tree species are used for the nest; in Michigan 70 of 106 nests observed in 1990 were in white pine.

Habitat: Breeding: Forests and open areas, mountains, usually near large bodies of water. Wintering: Coast and inland where ice-free waters allow access to fish. Also ice-bound lakes where birds feed on carrion such as deer carcasses. Birds congregate at night roosts and feeding areas.

Special Habitat Requirements: Large bodies of water that contain fish, large living trees for nesting. Pilot trees (access points to and from nest) and perch trees are important. Insulation from human disturbance may be a habitat requirement.

Habitat: Coasts, rivers, large lakes; in migration, also mountains, open country. Typically close to water, also locally in open dry country. Occurs in a variety of waterside settings where prey is abundant, including swamps in Florida, edges of conifer forest in southeastern Alaska, treeless islands in Aleutians, desert rivers in Arizona. Also winters in some very dry western valleys.

Diet: Mostly fish when available, also birds, mammals. Feeds heavily on fish in many areas, including herring, salmon, carp, catfish, many others. When fish are scarce, may eat birds (ducks, coots, auklets, others) or mammals (jackrabbits, muskrats, others). Sometimes eats turtles, crabs, shellfish, other items. Often feeds on carrion; when fish or carrion readily available, may catch few birds or mammals.

Nest: Site is usually in tree, often on cliff in west, or on ground on northern islands. Tree nests are usually in very tall tree, standing above surrounding forest, up to 180 feet or more above ground. Nest usually a mound of sticks, lined with finer materials; nest may be reused and added to for years, becoming huge.