Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

 

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Bald Eagle [lateral view of adult]: Photograph Credit: Stephen J. Stedman; City Lake, Putnam County, Tennessee; 6 March 2014.

 

Abundance: Uncommon during spring, summer, and fall throughout most of the Region, especially in counties where moderate- to large-sized lakes are present; Fairly Common during winter; recorded in 22 Regional counties (Map of UCR Distribution); data from the Regional bird-monitoring efforts indicate that the population breeding in the Region is probably increasing at a slow rate; the part of the wintering population that does not remain to breed is probably stable or also slowly increasing (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Permanent Resident; photograph [immature in flight] (Edmund K. LeGrand; Lake Tansi, Cumberland County, Tennessee; 30 November 2011); photograph [lateral view of adult perched] (Judy C. Fuson; Hurricane Ridge Rd., DeKalb County, Tennessee; 28 January 2010).

Regional High Count: 92 (January 1993; Dale Hollow Lake, Kentucky and Tennessee; TWRA personnel, m. ob.; Note: not a one-county count).

Breeding: Confirmed (Recent).  Historically, the Bald Eagle was probably a breeder along the Cumberland River. Although much of that river was impounded during the mid-Twentieth Century, the conversion from river to impoundment did not reduce the suitability of the river valley as nesting habitat for eagles.  However, DDT contamination eliminated the breeding population in the Region by the early 1960s. Nesting resumed no later than the breeding season that began in late 1985 and continued through late summer 1986, when a juvenile was discovered along the Cumberland River near Granville, Jackson County, Tennessee, 19 July 1986 (Kurt Eichenburger, James D. Parrish photo; Stedman 1986d). By the 1990s and 2000s Bald Eagles were nesting at various sites around the Region, including Barren River Reservoir, Dale Hollow Lake, Cordell Hull Lake, and Center Hill Lake. A nest was established near Crossville during the late 2000s. 

Habitat: Large, tree-lined bodies of water, especially those supporting a large population of American Coots during winter.

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: Registered on 0 (of 125 possible) monthly check-lists during 2003 and on 2 (of 206 possible) check-lists during 2004, indicating that the Bald Eagle is a Rare species in yards and neighborhoods, few of which were surveyed at sites with nearby eagle populations.

Foray Results: A summary of data from UCR Forays follows (to view a map displaying foray data for a county or a sub-Region for this species, click on the name of an underlined county or state below):

County Dates when Foray Conducted Total Blocks
in County *
Total Blocks in which
Bald Eagle
Recorded
Total Individuals
Recorded
         
Adair 816 June 2014 46 2 1
Barren 1–6 June 2013 54 0 0
Clinton 12–14 June 2009 24 0 0
Cumberland 1620 June 2014 35 1 1
McCreary 30 May5 Jun 2011 51 1 0
Metcalfe 812 June 2013 32 0 0
Monroe 1–12 June 2015 35 0 0
Pulaski 511 June 2010 72 0 0
Russell 1316, 2629 June 2012 31 1 1
Wayne 28 May3 June 2012 54 2 2
         
Kentucky   434 (408) 7 (1.6%) 5
         
Bledsoe 1824 June 2012 48 0 0
Clay 12–15 June 2010 30 3 2
Cumberland 29 May4 June 2010 75 1 0
DeKalb 2326 May 2008 40 1 0
Fentress 1117 June 2012 55 0 0
Jackson 29 May1 Jun 2009 40 1 2
Macon 1722 June 2013 32 0 0
Morgan 1–8 June 2014 58 0 0
Overton 2329 May 2011 47 0 0
Pickett 2225 May 2009 24 0 0
Putnam 6–12 June 2011 46 0 0
Scott 924 June 2016 62 0 0
Smith 1525 June 2015 37 0 0
Van Buren 13–15 June 2011 33 0 0
Warren 1–10 June 2016 47 0 0
White 1–6 June 2015 50 0 0
         
Tennessee   724 (651) 6 (0.8%) 4
         
Region   1158 (c, 1059) 13 (1.1%) 9

* Because some foray blocks fall into two or three counties, the total of blocks in the Kentucky or Tennessee portions of the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the counties of each portion of the Region; similarly, because some blocks fall into both states, the total of blocks for the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the two states.

RemarksShooting of the national bird remains a source of mortality of at least minor significance; electrocution and other homogenically related sources of mortality suggest humans continue to contribute to the mortality statistics for this species more than ought to be the case.

    Preys on many species of waterbirds during winter, especially American Coot and injured ducks.  An eagle was observed harrying, capturing, killing, but not carrying off and consuming a Common Loon at Dale Hollow Lake (county undetermined) during the early 2000s (G. Nivens, pers. com.); an average-sized loon may be too heavy for an average-sized eagle to carry (weight of Bald Eagle: 3–6.5 kg [6.5–14 lbs]; weight of Common Loon: 2–8 kg [4.5–18 lbs]).

    Mid-winter surveys of Bald Eagles have been conducted during early January at several Regional lakes in Kentucky since the early 1980s and at several Regional lakes in Tennessee since the late 1970s; many data from these surveys may be viewed via the following links:

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Barren Metcalfe Adair Russell Pulaski
Monroe Cumberland Clinton Wayne McCreary
Macon Clay Pickett Fentress Scott
Smith Jackson Overton Putnam Morgan
DeKalb White Cumberland
Warren Van Buren Bledsoe

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Burgess Falls SP, Putnam/White Counties, TN Barren River Lake SP, Barren County, KY
Cumberland Mountain SP, Cumberland County, TN General Burnside Island SP, Pulaski County, KY
Edgar Evins SP, DeKalb County, TN  
Fall Creek Falls SP, Bledsoe/Van Buren Counties, TN Pulaski County Park, Pulaski County, KY
Frozen Head SNA, Morgan County, TN Waitsboro Recreation Area, Pulaski County, KY
Rock Island SP, Warren/White Counties, TN  
Standing Stone SP, Overton County, TN Big South Fork NRRA, KY and TN
   
Cane Creek Park, Putnam County, TN  
Roaring River Recreation Area, Jackson County, TN  

Literature Cited