The powerful Bald Eagle is our country’s National Bird;
It makes a high-pitched shrieking sound, a call that’s often heard
In parts of North America with mountain waterfalls;
It lives in tree-tops with a view, and craggy cliff-face walls.
 
The eagle couple builds a nest that’s five to six feet wide
That’s made of interwoven sticks and lined with moss inside,
They pick a spot near water so that there are fish to eat
And also different animals, providing them with meat.
 
It’s thought that eagles mate for life and both do parenting,
Keeping watch and hunting food to bring their new offspring.
Their chicks may number two or three, pink skin with light gray down.
Their first four years, the young birds spend exploring all around.
 
The year they’re three is when the eagles’ heads and tails turn white;
The contrast with their dark brown bodies is a startling sight.
Their yellow eyes, alert and keen, see farther than ours do,
And they see details clearer, colors brighter than us, too.
 
The natural life-span of these birds is forty years or so;
And hunting them—against the law—a very big no-no.
Since pesticides are also banned, and barring other ills,
The only danger to them now is tanker crude oil spills.
 
Bald Eagles soar with strength and grace—magnificent to see—
They are the noble emblem of our great land of the free.
May we stay vigilant and strong and to ourselves be true
And soar with confidence and courage like Bald Eagles do.