The EAGLES have landed.

Byline: Mark Baker The Register-Guard

"When thou seest an eagle, thou seest a portion of genius; lift up thy head!" - William Blake

They winter here and they wander here, and it's happening more and more as the years go on. Scientists say that is a very good thing for what has been our national bird for 225 years.

In short, the bald eagle, that steely-eyed sacred symbol of the United States - from its image on the seal of the president to the back of a dollar bill - continues its miraculous comeback as it once again rules the North American sky.

Oregon is one of the top spots in the nation for the majestic raptor once threatened with extinction, and in Lane County sightings are on the rise this month.

There are a couple of simple reasons for that, says Frank Isaacs, a biologist with the Oregon Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit at Oregon State University and the state coordinator for Oregon's annual bald eagle nesting survey.

First, from late February to early March is the peak time for migrating bald eagles in Oregon. Second, this is the fifth year in a row research has shown an increase in the birds' breeding and nesting numbers in the state.

"New nesting pairs are setting up nests in places where they normally wouldn't because they're not afraid," Isaacs says, referring to bald eagles becoming less fearful of humans over the years as provisions have been put in place to protect them.

One of those places might be the Delta Ponds near Valley River Center.

"They seem to be fairly used to people," says birding enthusiast Kit Larsen of Eugene, a retired systems analyst at the University of Oregon's Computing Center. Larsen is a member of a regular Wednesday morning birding group that has seen the same pair of bald eagles several times at the ponds.

"They're not afraid; they don't fly off," Larsen says.

Other areas of frequent sightings in the county include the mud flats at Fern Ridge Lake, anywhere along the Willamette River and in the fields that line Interstate 5 between Eugene and Brownsville.

"There are many bald eagles in the valley right now," says Dan Gleason, a retired UO biology professor who still teaches a field ornithology class in the summer and is the author of "Birds From the Inside Out."

"It would not be surprising that the pair at Delta Ponds right now are nesting somewhere," Gleason says.

Shot, trapped and poisoned

After decades of dwindling numbers that saw the bald eagle, also known as the American eagle, listed as an endangered species in the United States between 1967 and 1995, the numbers have increased to the point where the bird is expected to be taken off the federal Endangered Species Act's "threatened" list by June.

Not bad for a creature whose numbers dropped to fewer than 500 nesting pairs in the contiguous 48 states in 1963, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

As of last June, the federal agency had recorded 7,066 nesting pairs of bald eagles in the 48 states. (Alaska has an estimated 40,000 bald eagles, more than any place on Earth, while Hawaii is the only U.S. state where they do not exist.)

Protection of bald eagles in the United States began in 1940 when Congress passed the Bald Eagle Protection Act, still in effect, that prohibits the taking of, the possession of, or any commerce involving the birds.

The post-World War II pesticide DDT took the biggest blame for the near demise of bald eagles. Used for insect control throughout the country, DDT residue washed into lakes and streams where it was absorbed by plants and animals that were eaten by fish. The fish were then eaten by bald eagles, making males sterile and females unable to lay healthy eggs. DDT was banned in 1972.

Bald eagles also were said to have died from lead poisoning from feeding on hunter-killed or crippled waterfowl containing lead shot that was ingested by the birds, according to the Fish & Wildlife Service.

The agency phased out the use of lead shot for waterfowl hunting in the 1990s.

Throughout the 19th century and into the 20th century, bald eagles were considered predators and often shot by farmers or hunted.

"They were shot, trapped and poisoned like coyotes," Isaacs says.

But with years of protections in place, they have been able to reproduce and flourish again, he says.

Not that they don't still face challenges, even here in the Willamette Valley.

In March 2004, for example, the Fish & Wildlife Service investigated the intentional pesticide-induced deaths of 17 bald eagles in the valley since 1991. Someone was putting out sheep carcases laced with the illegal pesticide Fenthion, Isaacs says.

"I think word got out and the feds were actively investigating and it stopped," he says.

"Bad moral character"

Of the more than 7,000 nesting pairs recorded last year in the United States, almost 500 were in Oregon, according to the Oregon Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit. That's up from 57 nesting pairs recorded by the state in 1978. The state normally has about 2,000 to 3,000 bald eagles this time of year, Isaacs says.

Three years ago this month, an unprecedented number of bald eagles were spotted at Fern Ridge, thanks to dead and dying goldfish that were succumbing to an unusual bacterial infection known as cold-water disease. Biologists counted 62 nesting pairs of bald eagles at the lake in February 2004, undoubtedly drawn by the easy pickings of the goldfish.

Bald eagles feed mainly on fish. That's why a vast majority in North America can be found in Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon. And why they are not an uncommon sight along the Willamette River in Lane County this time of year, Gleason says.

"Anywhere along the river is a possibility," Gleason says, "from Mount Pisgah to anywhere along the valley. A lot of them are wandering birds living along places where they can fish easily or find carrion."

Gleason spotted four bald eagles while driving north along Interstate 5 between Eugene and Brownsville earlier this month. And he remembers seeing 25 or 30 of them four or five years ago in a field near Brownsville while driving a back road. They are often spotted in fields where sheep are grazing, he says, looking for dead mice and such.

"A lot of people think they're after the sheep but they're not. They can't carry a sheep." But they will gladly feed upon a sheep's remains.

Despite their regal reputation, bald eagles are not always the noble bird we think, Gleason says. As scavengers, they often steal food from other predators, and the sound they make "is not big and impressive the way some people think it should be," he says. It's more of a shrill, high-pitched twittering.

Maybe that's why Benjamin Franklin thought the bald eagle a poor choice for our national bird in 1782, advocating instead for the wild turkey, a bird that he thought was more courageous.

Of bald eagles, Franklin wrote that they were less likely to be seen soaring through the air than perched on some dead tree near a river, waiting for a hawk flying by with a fish.

"He is a bird of bad moral character," Franklin wrote of the bald eagle. "He does not get his living honestly."

Nonetheless, it's difficult to imagine William Blake writing about the "genius" of the wild turkey, or a rock band named "The Wild Turkeys," or the Steve Miller Band singing, "I want to fly like a wild turkey/To the sea/Fly like a wild turkey/Let my spirit carry me."

BALD EAGLE FACTS

Emblem: Adopted as our national bird in 1782 when the Great Seal of the United States was created.

On the rebound: Wildlife experts believe there may have been as many as 100,000 nesting bald eagles in the contiguous 48 states in 1782. By 1963, there were fewer than 500 nesting pairs. Today, there are more than 7,000.

Delisted: After asking for an extension, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's court-ordered deadline to make a decision on whether to remove the bald eagle from the threatened list of the federal Endangered Species Act was moved from Feb. 16 to June 29.

Still protected: If the bird is removed from the list, it would still be protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Bald Eagle Protection Act. The latter prohibits the take, transport, sale, barter, trade, import and export, and possession of eagles, making it illegal for anyone to collect eagles and eagle parts, nests, or eggs without a permit.

Scientific name: Haliaeetus leucocephalus, a combination of Latin and Greek for haliaetos (sea eagle), leukos (white) and kephale (head).

Habitat: Natural range covers most of North America, including most of Canada, all of the continental United States and northern Mexico.

Longevity: Bald eagles live about 20 to 30 years in the wild, and have been known to make it to 50 or 60 in captivity.

Not bald: The name comes from the distinctive appearance of the adult's head. Bald in the English name is derived from the word "piebald," and refers to the white head and tail feathers in contrast with the darker body.

Diet: The birds sit at the top of the food chain and eat mainly fish, but they will take advantage of carrion (dead and decaying flesh).

Nests: Built out of branches, usually in large trees near water; a nest may stretch as large as 8 feet across and weigh as much as a ton.

Together forever: Bald eagles reach sexual maturity at about 4 or 5 years old and, once paired, remain together until one dies.

Wingspan: 72 to 90 inches.

Cruising altitude: Bald eagles can soar up to 10,000 feet. During level flight, they can achieve speeds of about 30 to 35 mph.

Feathers: They have about 7,000.

- www.baldeagleinfo.com, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Wikipedia