CANTON (WWJ) A WWJ listener spotted a bald eagle in Canton and shared the moment with us.
David Kelm said he saw the eagle on Lilley between Warren and Ford Road on Sunday.
The bald eagle has been the National Bird of the United States since 1782 when it first appeared on the National Seal with outstretched wings.
According to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services; adult eagles measure 30 to 40 inches from head to tail with a seven to eight foot wingspan. They weigh between eight and 14 pounds— with the female larger than the male. They feed on fish, ducks, rodents, snakes and carrion. Eagles mate for life in nests that can weigh up to 2,000 pounds above rivers, lakes or wetlands.
The bald eagle population started to decline in the 1940’s when the pesticide DDT was introduced. They became an endangered species in 1978—with only about 450 breeding pairs of eagles total in the Lower 48 states.
In the early seventies, Michigan only had about four nesting pairs of eagles; according to nature education and contributor to the Oakland County Government Blog , Jonathan Schechter. He said their population started to recover over the decades thanks to the Endangered and Threatened Species Act and the banning of DDT (in 1972). They were removed from the list of Endangered Species in 2007. The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act continue to protect them federally and makes hunting them illegal.