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With America continuing its recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, a Connecticut resident received some surprise guests in the form of the national emblem of the United States.
A pair of bald eagles were captured on camera taking in the sights in the backyard of a Greenwich home as they make the rounds up and down the East Coast enjoying the newly warm weather as winter completes its transformation into spring.
The birds made a pitstop at the Greenwich home before moving on, but not before an eagle-eyed resident was able to capture them taking in the sights while perched atop a tree.
Once an endangered species, bald eagles have seen their population rise, though they remain under limited protection from the federal government.
"After the pesticide DDT caused massive declines in bald eagle populations across the continental United States, recovery began slowly,” Connecticut DEEP Wildlife Division expert Brian Hess said. “This slow pace was a result of the depth of the population decline, the delayed maturity of eagles, and their relatively slow reproductive rate.”
According to environmental officials, bald eagles typically are in the process of incubating their young and waiting for eggs to hatch in mid-April. Once incubation begins, an eagle will typically be present at the nest at all times.
The bald eagle, known as the national emblem of the United States, was first chosen for the honor in 1782 by the Second Continental Congress because the species is unique to North America.
However, the bald eagle went from being common in the early 1700s to extremely rare in the lower 48 states by the 1960s.
The bald eagle was first declared an endangered species with the passage of the federal Endangered Species Act in 1973. It was removed from that list in 2007, though the birds are still protected by the Bald Eagle and Golden Eagle Protection Act of 1940 and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.
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