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Although Benjamin Franklin preferred the wild turkey, the U.S. Continental Congress chose the wild raptor the Bald Eagle as the national bird in 1782.
Symbol for majesty and freedom, the bald eagle nearly went extinct in the 1980s. Loss of open space and vital wetlands together with hunting steadily reduced populations. But, the advent of reckless DDT pesticide use in the 1940s nearly extinguished the eagle. The poison quickly worked its way up the food chain in accumulations of higher and higher does. The eagles consumed fish laced with potent DDT, and the result was eggs laid by the eagles had shells so thin many embryos dehydrated and never hatched.
The ban on DDT in 1972, along with habitat protection, bean to bring the eagle back.
Point Washington State Forest has one or two breeding pairs in residence. Eagles have been observed fishing in Western Lake in Grayton and in Choctawhatchee Bay. We hope they will successfully rear their young and stay. |
