By Cathy Warwick

When I do an internet search on a Bald Eagle I can see what other popular searches come up. As with other birds, there is one that says ‘what does it mean when I see a Bald Eagle’. Before I started writing articles I wasn’t aware that people looked at birds as little omens as they went about their day.

The most dramatic behaviour of a Bald Eagle I have seen is when I was swimming in the Pacific Ocean one year. An eagle swooped down and snatched a gull who was casually paddling near me. I know for that poor gull, whose last look at earth included a fast receding woman in the ocean, mouth agape, the eagle was a very bad omen.

These impressive creatures can be seen near bodies of water around our city. Carburn Park, Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, Sandy Beach, the Bow River, Glenmore Dam and sometimes just flying over your neighbourhood. They are about 2-3 feet in height (almost 1 metre) and can have a wingspan of almost 7 feet (2 metres) – a huge bird! They build mega nests, at least 6 feet wide, way at the top of trees. As they will reuse them yearly and keep building them out, it’s a wonder they don’t add a front door and chimney. 

Most people recognize them by their two-color uniform of a white head and a brown body. Of course they are not actually bald, the word ‘bald’ means ‘white’ in ye olde English. It’s wise to remember that immature Bald Eagles can be completely brown and as big as a mature Bald Eagle. Don’t go assuming you are seeing a Golden Eagle! There have been too many “Golden Eagle” sightings in Calgary, I wouldn’t be marking that in eBird unless the bird flew close enough to let me see its legs that are feathered to the toes. If it did a kick dance in front of me and I saw its “feathered boots” clearly, then maybe I would mark it as a Golden Eagle. Another way to tell is that while the Bald Eagle flies with its wings straight out like a board, the Golden will hold them in a slight “V”.

Bald Eagles like fish, but definitely aren’t picky, and, like most of us, will eat whatever is easiest. Often that means carrion or stealing another predator’s food. They can fill up on food when it’s available and then have nothing for many days. 

Their impressive size, huge talons and fierce looks lend them to becoming a powerful symbol. The United States adopted them as such of course. Perhaps that government’s ties to the Bald Eagle hastened the banning of DDT, which severely impacted the eagles’ numbers in the early and mid 1900s. If so, we are lucky that the Bald Eagle is around to act as an ‘Umbrella Species’ to the many other birds and animals that were also protected by the banning of DDT.  Humans often need a symbol to focus their efforts on. The Bald Eagle was an Endangered Species for a while there, thankfully they are off that list as of 2017. Many of the Indigenous Peoples of North America viewed this eagle as a spiritual symbol, or a messenger from the spirit world. 

The Bald Eagle Wikipedia page is so long compared to other birds!

If you are walking around Calgary and you see a Bald Eagle you really can consider it a lucky omen, considering you were lucky enough to see it.

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