A Note To Parents: We make every effort for Roxanne's blog to be a SAFE site for children. Whenever possible, activities are in pdf format or link to safe sites for children. Please feel free to use the information in these posts for homeschool studies! All rights reserved by author and nature photographer, Virginia Parker Staat.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Eagle Sighting!

After church on Sunday, Mom told us that there was a special place that she wanted to go for the Great Backyard Bird Count.  When we arrived, Dad was the first the spy the bird.  It was a BALD EAGLE!

We saw the eagle roosting in a pine tree.  It was a beautiful bird.  It had yellow eyes, a yellow beak, and yellow feet.  The bird's head and tail were white.  The body feathers were dark brown.  The eagle was about 3 feet tall from head to tail.



Resident Eagle in Spring, Texas
Before too much longer, we spied the eagle's nest.  The nest was high up in a pine tree, not too far behind the adult eagle.

Eagle's Nest
When we looked closely at the nest, we could see some flapping wings.  It was a baby eagle or eaglet!

Look closely under the large limb to see the outline of the eaglet.
It was an amazing sight to see such beautiful birds.  Mom told Missy and me that this pair of Texas bald eagles have been nesting here since 1999.  They have fledged at least 28 eaglets.


After we went home, we decided to learn all about bald eagles.  Bald eagles are birds of prey.  That means that they hunt and feed on other animals.  Bald eagles like to live near lakes because they eat lots of fish.

A mother eagle begins building her nest in early October in Texas.  By December, she lays one to three eggs.  The eaglets hatch in January.  The babies fledge (learn to fly) in about twelve weeks.  

An eagle's nest is very large.  Since the parent's wing span is about six to eight feet across, they need a very big nest to hold themselves and their babies.  Sometimes the nests can be more than nine feet across!

We also learned that the bald eagle is the national emblem or symbol for the United States of America.  Our leaders chose the bald eagle as our national emblem on June 20, 1782.  


If you would like to read more about bald eagles, just check out my August 10, 2010 post here:   Bald Eagles (it includes bald eagle fact sheets)

Here's a great activity book to learn more about bald eagles:  Bald Eagle Educational Activity Guide

If you would like to color an eagle, just click here:  Eagle Coloring Page


2 comments:

  1. Oh wow! We loved reading about the eagle that you saw. How very special. We learned so much from your post today. Thank you for the information. I wonder if MISsy was dressed nicely enough for church on Sunday. I hope so! Thanks again!

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  2. Thanks for writing to us! We agree... eagles are such special birds. There are so many amazing things to writing about them. They can fly 75 miles per hour and soar over 10,000 feet high. Did you know that they can swim? And their eyesight is so good that they can spy a rabbit over two miles away!

    We love to watch the eagles near our house. One day when we were walking on the golf course, an eagle flew along right beside us. It was amazing!

    So glad that you enjoyed the post. Oh, and yes, Missy was dressed just right for church!

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