Eagle officially named national bird

By Linda Cicoira

While visions of sugar plums danced in our heads this week, the bald eagle officially became our country’s national bird. You may have already thought it was, but nope!

Although the eagle is as American as apple pie and the stars and stripes on the United States flag and has flown at the center of “The Great Seal” of the United States since 1782, the eagle has never before had the designation.

On Dec. 24, an act of Congress, signed by Pres. Joe Biden made the bird declaration. The legislation, introduced by Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Rep. Brad Finstad, both of Minnesota, said the bald eagle is “a historical symbol of the United States representing independence, strength, and freedom.”

According to The New York Times, the bald eagle has joined the same ranks as the bison, which became the national mammal in 2016, and the oak, which has been the national tree since 2004.

The bald eagle was on the endangered species list in the U.S. until 1995 and was removed from the threatened species list in 2007. In 1940, when populations dwindled, Congress made it illegal to kill, sell, or own bald eagles, a prohibition that remains in place today. Harming a bald eagle, its nest, or its eggs is also illegal. Protective laws, the endangered species designation, and a 1972 ban on the deadly pesticide DDT helped eagle populations thrive.

Bald eagles are native to North America and can be found in almost every state. They appear to be thriving on the Eastern Shore in recent years. Two releases of injured eagles were held on the Eastern Shore this year. There were more than 315,000 bald eagles across the contiguous United States in 2019, or about four times more than the population was a decade earlier. Above is a photo of an eagle release at Mutton Hunk that year.