Our New National Bird

Did you know that the United States has a new National Bird?  It’s the Bald Eagle!  Does that surprise you?  It surprised me, too.  The Bald Eagle was designated the symbol to represent the U.S. on its Great Seal in 1782 (after a committee discussed, among other things, the turkey).  Since then it has appeared on everything from our currency, governmental buildings, and flags.  For some reason though, it was never officially adopted as our National Bird; perhaps it was because everyone assumed it was already our National Bird.  When eagle enthusiast Preston Cook discovered this he began to lobby his Minnesota Senators and Legislators to pass a bill designating the Bald Eagle as our National Bird.  It was signed into law on December 24, 2024 by President Biden.  If you’d like to read an NPR article about the history of the Bald Eagle and its slow adoption as our National Bird CLICK HERE.

Below are some GreatBirdPics submitted by our members of our new National Bird:

Avneet Kaur spotted a Red-winged Blackbird harassing a Bald Eagle as it was perched.

Here’s a classic Bald Eagle flight shot from Osprey60.  Beautiful composition!

We know Bald Eagles feast on fish most of the time.  Here’s a shot by Ronald Zigler of one enjoying a trout for breakfast.

Finally, one I took a couple of years ago. This Bald Eagle was perched during a downpour and got thoroughly drenched.  It doesn’t look happy about it.

If you enjoy seeing beautiful pictures of birds from around the world and reading about them Click Here to sign up for our mailing list.  Members can post their own GreatBirdPics and learn more about bird photography techniques.