Eagle in 1918: Extirpation then pesticide crash
[176] [more-eagle-76] In 1918, the field log for Eagle is headed “Extirpation then pesticide crash.” The figure kept beside that heading is 1963. It is a count or a date from the work, not a rank of the species’ worth. A zoo birthday card does not replace the log. EPA cancellation of most DDT uses removed the main eggshell-thinning driver in North America.
Apex diurnal raptors whose stoops, territories and national emblems stretch from taiga cliffs to tropical canopy. Why do bald eagles show a white head only as adults? The white head and tail typically appear after four to five years. Juveniles are mottled brown, which reduced historical miscounts in winter surveys.
How fast is an eagle stoop compared with level flight? Level cruising for large eagles is often 50–80 km/h. A hunting stoop is a different regime — trained golden eagles have been filmed above 240 km/h. Did DDT almost erase North American bald eagles? By 1963 the lower-48 count was about 417 nesting pairs. The 1972 DDT ban plus Endangered Species Act protection preceded the 2007 delisting.
No. “Eagle” is a grade inside Accipitridae. Sea eagles (Haliaeetus) and booted eagles (Aquila) split tens of millions of years ago. Why is the Philippine eagle a different conservation story? Pithecophaga jefferyi is a forest-interior endemic with perhaps a few hundred adults. Logging and shooting, not eggshell thinning, dominate the threat list.
Keep 1918, “Extirpation then pesticide crash,” and 1963 together or the note on Eagle stops being that year’s record.1918
Figures to keep
- Year of the note
- 1918
- Figure to keep
- 1963
- Species
- Eagle
- Line in the log
- Extirpation then pesticide crash