The sight of the snow white heads and tails and dark bodies and wings against a pure blue sky takes the breath away. Charlie Nash, the county's resident eagle expert, developed some interesting facts during his many years as organizer of the countywide annual bald eagle count. He ran the count from 1963 to 1991. More bald eagles live on the north and northwest sides of the islands because lighting conditions are best for hunting. The eagle population dropped drastically in the 1970s and early 1980s when a plague nearly wiped out the island rabbit population.
Eagles rely heavily on rabbits for food.
Eagle populations also drop every winter when migrating birds head north to mature or to inland rivers to eat spawning salmon. Resident eagles usually live in the islands from October through mid-July, when their young are old enough to fly to salmon spawning rivers. Eagles hatch in late spring and begin to fly at 12 weeks old. Young eagles mature at five or six years old, when their mottled brown feathers are replaced with the familiar brilliant white ones. Eagles mate for life and produce two to three eggs per year.