Episode 62: Bald Eagle – Voice of the Wild

This is Brodie with Illinois Extension and I’m here with a new “voice of the wild”

The image of this bird is well known and most can ID it in a glance; either by their distinctive head color or by their enormous, broad wingspan, appearing almost like a flying 2x6. But given only their wimpy, gull like call, you’d be forgiven for not knowing the bird’s true identity; Hollywood is to blame there – they often use the red tailed hawk’s fierce screech as a stand-in for the sound of the United States’ national symbol. This is the Bald eagle.

I’ve talked to many people who never thought they’d see a bald eagle in Illinois, not after the use of DDT drove their numbers down throughout most of the 20th century. After that pesticide was banned in 1972 and the endangered species act passed in the following year, the population recovered and now you can find these enormous birds all throughout the state, especially near rivers and big lakes. Here’s the bald eagle again.

Thank you to the Macaulay library at the Cornell lab for today’s sound. Learn more about voice of the wild at go.illinois.edu/VOW