You know, we really shouldn’t need to have a Save the Eagles Day. We ought to do it without any special reminder or ceremonial day. To borrow a Robert Heinlein phrase, eagles are like pretty girls and butterflies: sufficient unto themselves and need no excuse.
But in this modern world, today two-thirds of the eagle species are near-threatened, endangered or critically threatened. As top tier predator, eagles require extensive ranges, and humanity’s relentless destruction of wild habitat is pushing more and more of them towards extinction. The Bald Eagle is a modest success, removed from the Endangered Species list in 2007, but that was as much a matter of the Bald Eagle’s increased willingness to tolerate human disturbance and the prohibition of DDT as anything else. Other eagle species have not enjoyed similar success.
But let’s have a look at some of the other eagle species WC has been lucky enough to photograph to commemorate and encourage saving these magnificent birds.
A Near-Threatened species. its range extends across Southeast Asia and India. Habit loss appears to be the greatest threat.
Declining “moderately rapidly” due to habitat loss. Now classified as Near-Threatened.
Classified as Vulnerable, population declining because of persecution by humans and habitat loss.
Two photos of Golden Eagles, because Carol McIntyre. One of the world’s most widely distributed raptors, and WC’s personal favorite among North American raptors. The global population appears to be stable.
Too little is known about this species to determine if the population is stable; classified as Uncertain.
It’s a pretty bad photo but it is a pretty rare bird. The Mountain Hawk-Eagle is distributed across mountainous terrain of the Himalayas, Southeast Asia and Japan. The population my be as low as 1,200 bird. It is classified as Near-threatened.
Oh, all right, a Bald Eagle, too.
Wickersham's Conscience 
“…pretty girls and butterflies…”. Sounds about right.
LikeLike