Bald Eagle

 

Common Name
Bald Eagle

Scientific Name
Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Conservation Status
Population declined seriously during the first two-thirds of the 20^th century. Even after eagles were fully protected their numbers continued to decline because of DDT and other pesticides. The numbers have increased steadily since the banning of DDT in the 1970s.

Habitat
The bald eagle explores coasts, rivers, large lakes, and mountainous open country.

Additional Information
Historical records indicate that bald eagles bred on all islands within the park, with at least two dozen nesting pairs over the 8 Channel Islands. Persecution by humans and the effects of organochlorine chemicals such as DDT eliminated breeding bald eagles on the Channel Islands by the mid-1950's.

Breeding bald eagles provided important ecosystem functions in the northern Channel Islands. For example, bald eagles were once the top marine aerial predator and probably fed upon a variety of seabirds and fish. Bald eagles are generally highly territorial, and in the past this behavior may have prevented golden eagles from colonizing the islands.

In 2002, with funding from the Montrose Trustees Restoration Program, the park (in conjunction with partner, Institute for Wildlife Studies) began to introduce juvenile bald eagles to the northern Channel Islands. This was done using a technique called “hacking”. Birds of approximately 8 weeks of age were kept in one of two hack towers on Santa Cruz Island until they were ready to fly (at approximately 3 months of age). Sixty-one young bald eagles were introduced to the northern Channel Island between 2002 and 2006.

2006 marked the first successful bald eagle nest on the Channel Islands in over 50 years. In fact, there were two successful nests; both on Santa Cruz Island. One of the nests has a “web cam” and can be watched live during the nesting season.

Today, bald eagles are again an important part of the island ecosystem.