Bald Eagles

Usually their brawn and bravery are reserved for human beings, helpless and trapped along a rocky cliffside, or struggling to stay alive in a rush of water. For members of the U.S. Park Police, those rescues are intense, to be sure. But the team's first wildlife rescue might prove to be one of the most memorable. Yesterday, park police members - with staff from the state Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - watched as four bald eagles they had saved from a quicksandlike silt pond three weeks ago coasted confidently through the skies.

PORTSMOUTH, Va. - Wildlife biologists are baffled and intrigued by two incidents captured on videotape at a bald eagle nest in Portsmouth - an eagle parent attacks, kills, then eats its two scrawny young. "We've never seen anything like this," said Bryan Watts, director of the Center for Conservation Biology at the College of William and Mary, which was monitoring the nest with a 24-hour camera. Watts and colleague Mitchell Byrd, a renowned eagle expert in Virginia, contacted other scientists after viewing the footage and found that cannibalism among the nation's signature bird has never been documented or even suspected.

Government biologists saved a fifth bald eagle yesterday from quicksandlike mire in a Charles County mine waste pond where four young eagles were rescued by helicopter Tuesday. Federal wildlife officials began investigating whether to bring charges against the owner of the 10-acre pond near Nanjemoy that has claimed the lives of at least three young eagles. State officials said the mine owner, Maryland Rock Industries Inc., is stationing a worker with an air horn beside the pond from dawn to dark to scare away the majestic birds, protected under the Endangered Species Act and other laws.

Seven young bald eagles mired in a sludge pond at a Charles County gravel quarry prompted a dramatic helicopter rescue yesterday by state and federal wildlife workers. Three of the eagles died and the other four were taken to the Baltimore Zoo hospital last night for emergency veterinary care. Rescuers revived the injured eagles by scraping mud from their nostrils, said John Porcari, spokesman for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. The three that died appeared to have suffocated, he said.

A new bald eagle has taken up residence at the Baltimore Zoo. It's a majestic bird found in a place not usually associated with such creatures: Halethorpe, a community crisscrossed by rail lines and highways. State wildlife officials captured the male eagle, which has an injured wing, in a stretch of parkland near an interstate in southwest Baltimore County. The bird was taken to the zoo, which is designated as the area's first-aid center for eagles and falcons. The timing couldn't have been better.

do you KNOW? How fast can an eagle fly? Answer: Some migrating eagles can catch columns of rising air and reach speeds of 30 miles per hour! learn MORE! Visit the bald eagle at the Baltimore Zoo! Read The Bald Eagle, Endangered No More by Mac and Jennifer Priebe. 1. There are now an estimated 500,000 bald eagles in the United States. 2. 80 percent of all bald eagles are found in Alaska. 3. The bald eagle was recently removed from the endangered species list.

The classy veteran looked more like an old man yesterday at Pimlico. John's Call, the Breeders' Cup hopeful, was an also-ran in the non-graded $100,000 Bald Eagle Breeders' Cup Handicap. The 10-year-old finished seventh, 5 1/2 lengths behind winner La Reine's Terms in the one-mile race on the turf. The result left trainer Thomas Voss scratching his head. Breeders' Cup? Dueling Grounds? Canadian International? Pimlico? After the race, he admitted being pessimistic in going just eight furlongs, even though John's Call was getting Lasix treatment for the first time.

Biologists are trying to determine what killed a bald eagle found yesterday in Crownsville. The eagle was discovered about 6 a.m. in the front yard of a home in the 1100 block of St. Stephens Church Road, said John Surrick, a Department of Natural Resources spokesman. A DNR officer gave the bird to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which is conducting an investigation of the eagle's death. The cause was not immediately apparent. "There were no visible signs of any injury," said Chris Brong, a special agent for the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Proud Patriot The bald eagle was chosen on June 20, 1782, as the emblem of the United States of America because of its strength and majestic looks. The image of the eagle can be seen on all gold coins, the silver dollar, half dollars and quarters. What's for Dinner? Bald eagles live along the coastline and near water, so their diet is mostly fish. Do you know? How fast can an eagle fly? Answer: Some migrating eagles can catch columns of rising air and reach speeds of 30 miles per hour!

The bald eagle population of the Chesapeake Bay watershed has reached its highest point in decades, according to figures to be released today by the EPA's Chesapeake Bay program. The national bird remains on the endangered species list but is on its way to recovery, program spokesman Christopher Conner said yesterday. Researchers conducting an annual baywide count found a nest with a fledgling in the District of Columbia, the first time since the 1940s. The recovery can be attributed to improvements in water quality and eagle restoration efforts, said Frank Dawson, chairman of the bay program's living resources subcommittee.