Bald Eagles Are Star Attractions

Many fans are stopping on the Haul Road trail to watch one of nature’s dramas – bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) raising their young.  On April 17, 2019, FODM former president Ed Eder photographed this adult bald eagle bringing a catfish to the nest.  He wrote, “After depositing the fish at the nest, two eaglets were visible. One has contour feathers and is considerably larger. The other occasionally flaps and its wings are visible. The smaller one's head is still down covered.”

On April 4, 2019, he photographed one of the eaglets on this nest.  About the new chick, Ed wrote, “It is approximately three weeks old and mobile enough to stretch above the nest rim. The eaglet still has gray-white down and its contour feathers will not start appearing for another two weeks. Up to now only one offspring is visible, but another could still be hidden, so it is premature to rule out other chicks.”

Observers believe that there are three active bald eagle nests in Dyke Marsh this year.  The recovery of the bald eagle in the lower 48 U.S. states, after being listed under the federal Endangered Species Act, is a conservation success story nationally and in Dyke Marsh.