I. The Bald Eagle
	A. Physical description
		1. Size - 2-1/2 feet tall; 6-1/2 to 7 foot wing span.
		2. Weight - adult females are the largest weighing 10-12 lbs.
		3. Coloration and plumage
			a. Adult - Unmistakable white head and white tail.
			   Golden's have a bronze metalic hugh or cast. Bald eagles'
			   legs are feathered halfway down the tarsus, while goldens
			   are feathered to the toe. It is thought that this 
			   difference is an adaptation to their separate habitats,
			   i.e. goldens generally inhabit year round mountainous 
			   regions and balds use water ways more often.
			   Thus the feathered 'tarsus would be a disadvantage to 
			   "sea hawks" since it would weight them down and extend 
			   drying time.
			b. Juvenal - immature bald eagles are a lighter brown, 
			   mottled irregularly with white, achieving adult plumage 
			   after the 4th or 5th annual molt, and are often mistaken 
			   for golden eagles. Immature eagles have dark beaks and 
			   brown eyes, while adults have yellow eyes and beaks.
		4. Subspecies
			a. Northern bald eagle-northern U.S., Alaska, Canada.
			b. Southern bald eagle-smaller, less migratory, California
			   to Florida, officially endangered species.
	B.Lifestyle
     		1. Diet - eagles are hunters and scavengers eating primarily 
		   fish, small mammals, and disabled waterfowl, as well as 
		   carrion, i.e. spawned salmon, road kills and garbage dumps.
		2. Development
			a. Typically nest in tall trees and sometimes on rocky 
			   cliffs, rarely on bare ground. Nest are beside lakes, 
			   rivers, or the sea.
          		b. Build very large nests, keeping the same one and adding 
			   to it annually at their principal nest site. Snapping 
			   dead limbs with their feet, each year eagles add one 
			   foot of sticks to the "eyrie". The females do most of 
			   the nest building, some of these are over a century old 
			   and over 2000 1bs. There are some visible temporary nests 
			   on the Skagit.
         		c. Chicks hatch in late March after a 6 week incubation. 
			   There is usually one, maybe two eggs. Just before leaving 
			   on short trips eagles will cover the eggs in grass to help 
			   defend against owls and crows attack. 80% of the time, the 
			   first born will kill the younger chick, but if the younger 
			   chick can make it 3 weeks, it will survive. The male hunts 
			   aggressively after the hatch while the female stays close 
			   by and does most of the incubating. Chicks hatch without 
			   help. They have a rhinocerous like egg tooth which they use 
			   to hatch in about 4 hours. This special adaptation disappears 
			   after birth. Chicks are born with down feathers and keep 
			   under wing as the parents brood them for 3 weeks. The chicks 
			   gain 32 times their birth weight in 3 weeks. At 5 weeks 
			   chicks can stand up and begin to walk. At 7 weeks, real 
			   feathers come out of the down and, half grown, they can 
			   feed themselves from scraps brought in by adults who will 
			   continue to supply food 2 to 3 months after the offspring's 
			   first flights. At 8 weeks the juvenile is fully feathered, 
			   black and sleek. The eyes are hazel brown and the eagle does 
			   not resemble its future self.
			d. At 9 weeks eaglets begin flapping wings and strengthening 
			   themselves for first flights. At 12 weeks they are airborne 
			   and practicing targeted flights.
			e. Eagles have a gland in their rump and when rubbed produces 
			   oil for the essential and constant task of wing grooming over 
			   7000 feathers. Blood in the shaft of the juvenile's new quill 
			   feathers does not dry up for over a year and this temporarily 
			   inflates their size larger than the mature bird.
			f. At 4 to 5 years'of age~ eagles enter the breeding population 
			   and have adult coloration. Approximately 20% of all eagles 
			   live to reproduce. It is widely believed that eagles mate for 
			   life. Eagles have eyesight eight times better than man.
		3.Protection
			a. Northern eagles migrate south in winter to habitats in
          		   Washington, Oregon and Idaho. The Skagit area is one of the 
			   largest concentrations.
			b. Southern eagles disperse north to cooler climates.
     			c. Migration routes to open waters appear aimless. Juvenals 
			   generally migrate farther than adults who may not migrate at 
			   all some years. Movements are monitored by radio tagging 
			   programs of which there are 5 recovery teams in the U.S. 
			   More band return data is needed.
	C. Populations
		1. Numbers (1982 data) Bald eagles live on no other continent.
			a. It is estimated that there was 250,000 bald eagles in
           		   N. America 100 years ago. Less than 5,000 survive today. 
			b. 40 to 70,000 remain in Canada and Alaska. 
			c. 100,000 eagles were killed in Alaska before bounty
			   hunting ended in 1952. 40,000 survive in Alaska today.
      			d. Appx. 14,000 eagles winter in the U.S. from Canadian and 
			   Alaskan migrations. Wintering birds congregate in midwestern 
			   waterfowl refuges or restricted feeding habitats like the 
			   Skagit River basin.
		2. Causes for population decline
			a. Extreme pressures from man - forefathers slaughter.
			   Fishing tackle entrapment.
			b. Habitat destruction of feeding and nesting sites.
			c. Chemical contamination Of food supply.
				i. DDT on the crop land got to the rivers, then the
         			   fish, then the eagles. DDT was banned in 1972. 
				ii. DDE, a breakdown product of DDT, causes not
         			   sterility, but a fatal 'thinning of the eggshell. 
				iii. Lead poisoning from waterfowl killed with lead shot. 
				iv. Electrocution on powerlines used as perches.
		3. Protection
     			a. Most protected species in the country 
				i. The bald eagle act of 1940 
				ii. Migratory bird treaty act 
				iii. Endangered species act 
			b. An endangered species in 43 of lower 48 states 
			c. "Threatened" in remaining 5 states (WA,OR,MN,MI,WS) 
			d. Legal responsibility to turn over dead eagles to the
			   government. Shooting an eagle draws a one year prison 
			   term and a $5,000 fine. Dead birds are autopsied at 
			   Fish and Wildlife lab in Madison, WS. Birds are stored 
			   or stuffed in national repository in Pocatello, ID.
II.The Skagit River
	A. The river
        	1. Second only to the Columbia in volume of water carried to the 
		   Pacific Ocean.
         	2. Glacier and deep lake origin - between 36-44 degrees
         	3. Headwaters in southern British Columbia
         	4. Three dams, Gorge, Ross and Diablo dams control water levels 
		   for power consumption. Built during WWII for the aluminum 
		   aircraft industry.
         	5. Everpresent possibility of snags, log jams and sweepers
         	6. Managed by National Parks and National forest under the
		   wild and scenic rivers act.
	B. Wildlife
		1. Birds
               	a. Year round - bufflehead, merganzer, goldeneye, king-
			   fisher, dipper and blue heron.
			b. Fall - mallard, widgeon, and Canadian goose. 
			c. Winter - bald eagle, and occassional golden eagle. 
			d. Spring and summer - harlequin, and osprey.
		2. Fish
			a. Year round - rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, Dolly
			   Varden trout, whitefish.
			b. Fall - silver salmon, chum salmon, humpy (pink) salmon
			   in fall of odd # years.
			c. Late summer - king (chinook) salmon
			d. Winter - steelhead
     		3. Mammals - black bear, blacktailed deer, coyote, fox, raccoon, 
		   otter, beaver, mink, muskrat, whitelooted deer mouse, chipmunk, 
		   squirrel. 
		4. Reptiles - garter snake, rubber boa, salamander, newt, lizzard
    		5. Amphibians - western toad, tree frog, redlegged frog, bull frog, 
		   Cascade frog.