Bald Eagle

With its large dark brown body, snowy-white head and fearsome yellow talons and bill, the Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is one of the most recognizable raptors in the United States. The eagle’s preference for forested wetlands makes it representative of healthy upper estuary habitat and its role as an apex predator has a cascading effect on local ecosystems. The Southern Bald Eagle (H. l. leucocephalus), the nominate subspecies, is found across the southern United States, including in Louisiana. Unlike many other birds, Southern Bald Eagles nest and raise their young during our fall and winter. You can find them establishing breeding territories and nesting in mature bald cypress trees, utilizing inland swamps and marshes for habitat and foraging. The south-central and southeastern portions of the state, the Atchafalaya, Terrebonne, Barataria, and Pontchartrain Basins, provide ideal habitat for our national bird.