Yes, bald eagles live in R.I.!

Many people still are surprised to hear that bald eagles live in Rhode Island, though they started to arrive here about 10 years ago. Some migrate here in late winter to soar above our rivers and lakes, in search of fish, and others have been spotted nesting in our deep woods in the early spring. At least one has found easy pickings at the state landfill, and can be spotted there often.

Want to see an eagle? Click on "Read more" to learn how.

To see plenty of eagles up close, take a riverboat ride in Essex, Conn., with the Connecticut Audubon Society. The trips run Feb. 5 to March 13, tickets are on sale now. For $40 you get over two hours on a boat with local naturalists, and spend time among the state's largest concentration of bald eagles. You are pretty much guaranteed to see plenty of majestic eagles soaring close by. The launch site is easy to reach off Route 95, about an hour and 20 minutes south of Providence. For more info, contact Priscilla Wood at 800-996-8747 or by email at pwood@ctaudubon.org.

Another way to see some eagles up close -- Roger Williams Park Zoo is hosting a few bald eagles at the old polar bear exhibit space, part of what is now the zoo's North American Trail. These are rehabilitated eagles that were hurt and are now healthy but unable to be released into the wild.

Bald eagles are big, impressive birds, with wing spans over five feet. They can be spotted, like other raptors, perched high in trees or soaring on updrafts. When fishing, they dive for the water feet first, and snatch the fish in their claws. They build large nests, up to 8 feet wide, and can live up to 20 years and more in the wild.

According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the bald eagle population in the lower 48 states reached an all-time low of 417 nesting pairs in 1963, and by 2004 had climbed to an estimated 9,789 breeding pairs. The recovery is due to the ban on DDT in 1972, plus the addition of eagles to the Endangered Species List, which protected nests and roost sites. Thanks to this recovery, the bald eagle was taken off the endangered-species list in 2007, but other federal laws protect the birds and their habitat.

Top photo: One of the captive eagles at Roger Williams Park Zoo, by Mary Grady. Photos of eagles in flight and fishing by KetaDesign, via Wikimedia.

Learn more about bald eagles at The Encyclopedia of Life.