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Meet the Bald Eagle [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2024-08-14  

Meet the bald eagle, our nation’s bird, symbol of freedom and the untamed spirit.

Markings-wise, both genders are the same, but the female bald eagle tends to be around 25% larger and heavier than the male. While the only way to be sure of an eagle’s gender is a blood test, sometimes size is used as a quick and dirty ID.

They like to build huge nests near water. The Fort Saint Vrain bald eagles in Colorado, for instance, have a nest 9’ X 8’. It weighs up to 2700 lbs. and is in a massive cottonwood tree by the Saint Vrain River. According to the website devoted to these particular eagles, the nest is visible from space!

They often mate for life, courting in the late winter or early spring. They fly high in their courting dance, grab each other’s talons, then spiral down in a death-defying feat, releasing when they are close to crashing to the ground.

She lays 1-3 eggs, and they share incubating and hunting duties. Her greater size and strength make her better at defending the nest against predators looking to snatch an eaglet, so she generally does more nest time, but the more varies between pairs. Both parents raise and feed the eaglets.

I cannot cite this, but I watch a lot of raptor webcams. I suspect the female is the dominant of the pair based on what I see. But I would suggest asking a scientist specializing in these majestic birds about this, not me. I just observe out of idle interest.

The point of this is that bald eagles aren’t the hard patriarchal symbol that so many people would love to paint them to be. If this country really wants the dominant, posturing male to rule everything, maybe it should have stuck with the turkey as our symbol.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/8/14/2263167/-Meet-the-Bald-Eagle?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web

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