FORT RUCKER, Ala. (July 13, 2015) -- There is an abundance of wildlife that calls Fort Rucker home, but one unlikely family has taken up residence on one of the installation's most popular recreation areas.
Mostly keeping a low profile, a pair of bald eagles call Fort Rucker's Lake Tholocco home, and have done so since at least 1995, according to John McClamma, outdoor recreation NAF maintenance manager.
The eagles, seen by many Americans as a symbol of freedom, can be seen hunting across the lake and have built their nest nearly 100 feet up in a tree in the area located around the recreational vehicle park where they raise their offspring every year. John Clancy, outdoor recreation manager, said the birds of prey have claimed the entire 640-acre lake as their territory.
"They've probably got a good 5-square-mile territory in the area and the lake is predominantly theirs," he said. "If you visit any of these other big lakes in this area, such as Lake Eufaula, you'll notice other birds of prey, like Osprey, but you won't find any of them here because of the bald eagles that have nested here."
Currently, the eagles have two young juveniles who are about three months old nesting with them. The adults spend most of their time hunting other birds, fish and small mammals around the lake to feed their young, and Clancy said it's because of the eagles that the lake has a smaller population of cowbirds and American Coots, a type of duck.
Cowbirds are usually an easy target for the eagles, as they fly in large numbers close to the lake, and the eagles take advantage of this by working together to single out a target.
"They work as a great team," said McClamma. "Sometimes I'll go out there and watch them hunt, and the female will fly way up in the air while the male will sit in the tree to wait for a group of cowbirds to fly by.
"The male will round them up and chase one out of the flock, and as soon as one is singled out and flies over the top of the trees, the female will swoop down and nail it," he said. "Then she'll take it straight back to the nest to feed their young."
During the spring and summer, when they are primarily raising their young, other bird populations will see a decrease because of the eagles and their need to feed their offspring, said Clancy.
"You'll be hard pressed to find too many of those birds around during their prime hunting season," he said. "This lake was full of coots three months ago, but once the eagle's offspring hatched and they needed to start feeding their young, the population of other birds typically drops due to the hunting."
American coots typically feed on grass and seeds found at the bottom of the lake, and in order to get to its main source of food, the coots developed the ability to dive, which is also useful to escape from the eagles. But despite their ability to dive, Clancy said that oftentimes the tactic isn't enough to outsmart the national bird.
"Even though the coot can dive down to escape, the eagles will typically fly around to wait for the coots to resurface. They'll chase them until they run out of breath," he said.
When the birds aren't hunting, they're usually busy building their nests, which can grow to the size of a small car, said Clancy. Each time their young grow mature enough to leave the nest, they must find their own territory and the residing eagles will rebuild their nest to prepare for the next set of offspring.
As rare as it may seem to see bald eagles in the area, people can observe the birds around the lake and even catch glimpses of them hunting if they know where to look.
McClamma said the best area to observe the birds of prey is by the pier at the RV park during the evening hours. If people do decide to try and catch a glimpse, McClamma and Clancy ask that they in no way disturb the birds or their nest, as doing so is a federal offense.
The birds are protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, which was enacted in 1940, and harassing the birds can be considered a felony and can carry a maximum fine of $250,000 and up to two years imprisonment, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service website, www.fws.org.
The law prohibits the "take, possession, sale, purchase, barter, offer to sell, purchase or barter, transport, export or import, of any bald or golden eagle, alive or dead, including any part, nest, or egg, unless allowed by permit," according to the site.
As long as people can abide by these rules, they should be able to observe the birds safely, but Clancy also advises to keep small pets close by on a leash, so as to not get them snatched up by the eagles, which can grow to have a wingspan of up to seven feet.
"It's not something that's ever happened, but they do eat small mammals, so you might want to keep them close," he said.
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