Bald Eagles: Our National Symbol

Congress, which rarely does anything unanimously, voted with one voice in the fall of 2024 to correct a longstanding hole in federal law and officially designate the bald eagle as our national bird. President Joe Biden signed the bill into law on Christmas Eve of that year.

The bird of prey has been considered the national symbol since 1782, when it was added to the official seal. But its designation as the national bird had been taken for granted until it was discovered that it had never been officially designated as the national bird.

The National Emblem Act of 1940 also protects the bald eagle, making it illegal to hunt or sell the predator.

In any given year, there are 3-4 nesting pairs of bald eagles on Iroquois NWR. A few pairs have also been seen on neighboring state properties. Our eagle nest camera is trained on a pair nesting in a cottonwood tree at the north side of the Cayuga Pool, some 3800 feet from the Cayuga Overlook.

We don’t know how old the eagles are or how long they’ve been a pair. Since both have full adult plumage, they are probably at least 4 years old. Younger birds would have mottled brown and white plumage and less bright white on their heads.

We don’t know how long these eagles have been a pair. Unfortunately, unless they are banded or they have some unusual feature that would distinguish them from other adult eagles, we have no way of identifying one individual from another. The best we can do is tell males from females based on their size (females are bigger). However, the female of this pair has a squared-off notch of brown up into the white of her bib – that’s one way to tell this pair apart.

Bald eagles have been active at the Cayuga Pool site for about 25-to-30 years, but the nest has been blown down in the past and rebuilt. We have no way to tell if these are the same or different individuals.

The nest is in a large wetland with a mix of cat tail /marsh vegetation and open water. There is some shallow water for dabbling ducks and some deeper areas where the eagles like to fish. The refuge has over 3,000 acres of marsh and open water wetland.

Courtship and nest behavior can start as early as late fall, but usually pick up in December and January. The main breeding season should last from January through August. In mid- to late February, they will lay 1-to-3 eggs (one every 2-to-4 days).

Females may start pseudo incubation several days before laying so it can be difficult to tell if there are any eggs at first. Incubation is 34-to-36 days. Females do most of the incubation, but males also help. Typically (depending on weather) a bird will incubate about 3 hrs at a time.

Eagles are adapted to breed and incubate in cold weather. They start breeding early because the young take a long time to develop and will need to stay with their parents and learn to hunt all summer.

We expect to see both parents feeding the young with about 4-to-8 visits per day.
In many cases the chick that hatches first is largest and tries to take most of the food. In years when there is plenty of food both nestlings generally survive, but if the size difference in young is extreme, if one bird is sick or weak or if resources are limited the smaller chick may die. This is common in birds of prey.

The nestling period lasts about 10-to-12 weeks. For the first 5-6 weeks they will be covered with fluffy grey down. For the last 5-to-6 weeks they will be preening the down off and growing flight feathers. The young will make short practice flights around the nest area before fully fledging.

The young eagles will still be at least partly dependent on the adults for about 6 weeks after fledging. After 7-to-8 weeks they may separate from the family group and find their own hunting grounds.

In late summer, fall, and early winter the adults will return to the nest to build and rearrange nesting material – and start the process all over again.
(add link to eagle cam)

Birding

Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge is a birder’s paradise. We provide several tools for birdwatchers:

INWR Birding Hotspots

See where birders have been flocking to!

INWR Bird Finder

Looking for a certain species? Our Bird Finder lets you select any bird that has been reported in the area on eBird, and will show where it’s been.

INWR Bird Cam

We have a number of cameras monitoring our nesting birds (in season). See who’s hatching, or check out some of our video from previous years.

FINWR Blog

FINWR Blog

Bald eagles, nest cam back on track

Bald eagles, nest cam back on track

By Dick Moss and Garner Light After a brief but concerning setback, the Cayuga marsh bald eagle pair and the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge nest camera project are back on track. Two weeks after the nest camera, funded by Friends of Iroquois National Wildlife...

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Friends group elects officers, board members

Friends group elects officers, board members

Friends of Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge held its annual meeting Saturday, Nov. 23, and elected officers and several new board members. Elected to a two-year term as president was Richard Moss of Medina, a retired news editor. Emma DeLeon of Williamsville was...

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Meet Park Ranger Emily Kelly

Meet Park Ranger Emily Kelly

By Patti Singer Emily Kelly never needed to be told twice to go outside and play. Growing up near the Adirondack Park and in a family that prized the outdoor life, Kelly was at home in the natural world. “I grew up harvesting and canning produce from our garden,...

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