Editing Bald eagle (section)

==Habitat==
[[File:Bald Eagle, Ontario forest.jpg|thumb|In flight during a licensed performance in Ontario, Canada]]
[[File:Bald Eagle, training for falconry.jpg|thumb|During training at the Canadian Raptor Conservancy]]
The bald eagle occurs during its breeding season in virtually any kind of American [[wetland]] habitat such as [[Coast|seacoasts]], rivers, large lakes or [[marsh]]es or other large bodies of open water with an abundance of fish. Studies have shown a preference for bodies of water with a circumference greater than {{convert|11|km|mi|0|abbr=on}}, and lakes with an area greater than {{convert|10|km2|sqmi|0|sp=us|abbr = on}} are optimal for breeding bald eagles.<ref name="Gov"/>

The bald eagle typically requires old-growth and mature stands of [[pinophyta|coniferous]] or [[hardwood]] trees for perching, roosting, and nesting. Tree species reportedly is less important to the eagle pair than the tree's height, composition and location.<ref name="Suring"/> Perhaps of paramount importance for this species is an abundance of comparatively large trees surrounding the body of water. Selected trees must have good visibility, be over {{convert|20|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall, an open structure, and proximity to prey. If nesting trees are in standing water such as in a mangrove swamp, the nest can be located fairly low, at as low as {{convert|6|m|ft|abbr=on}} above the ground.<ref name="FPL"/> In a more typical tree standing on dry ground, nests may be located from {{convert|16|to|38|m|ft|abbr=on}} in height. In [[Chesapeake Bay]], nesting trees averaged {{convert|82|cm|in|abbr=on}} in diameter and {{convert|28|m|ft|abbr=on}} in total height, while in Florida, the average nesting tree stands {{convert|23|m|ft|abbr=on}} high and is {{convert|23|cm|in|abbr=on}} in diameter.<ref name=j3/><ref name=j4/> Trees used for nesting in the [[Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem|Greater Yellowstone area]] average {{convert|27|m|ft|abbr=on}} high.<ref name="Swenson, J. E. 1986"/> Trees or forest used for nesting should have a canopy cover of no more than 60%, and no less than 20%, and be in close proximity to water.<ref name="Gov"/> Most nests have been found within {{convert|200|m|ft|abbr=on}} of open water. The greatest distance from open water recorded for a bald eagle nest was over {{convert|3|km|mi|abbr=on}}, in Florida.<ref name="Travsky"/>

Bald eagle nests are often very large in order to compensate for size of the birds. The largest recorded nest was found in Florida in 1963, and was measured at {{convert|2.9|m|ft|sp=us|abbr=on}} wide and {{convert|6.1|m|ft|sp=us|abbr=on}} deep.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records-10000/largest-birds-nest/|title=Largest bird's nest|publisher=Guinnessworldrecords.com|access-date=October 5, 2013|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20131028222150/http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records-10000/largest-birds-nest/|archive-date=October 28, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In Florida, nesting habitats often consist of [[mangrove]] swamps, the shorelines of lakes and rivers, [[pine]]lands, seasonally flooded [[flatwoods]], [[Swamp|hardwood swamps]], and open [[prairie]]s and [[pasture]]land with scattered tall trees. Favored nesting trees in Florida are [[Pinus elliottii|slash pines]] (''Pinus elliottii''), [[Pinus palustris|longleaf pines]] (''P. palustris''), [[Pinus taeda|loblolly pines]] (''P. taeda'') and [[Cupressaceae|cypress trees]], but for the southern coastal areas where mangroves are usually used.<ref name="FPL"/> In [[Wyoming]], groves of mature [[Populus sect. Aigeiros|cottonwoods]] or tall pines found along streams and rivers are typical bald eagle nesting habitats. Wyoming eagles may inhabit habitat types ranging from large, old-growth stands of [[Pinus ponderosa|ponderosa pines]] (''Pinus ponderosa'') to narrow strips of riparian trees surrounded by rangeland.<ref name="Travsky"/> In [[Southeast Alaska]], [[Picea sitchensis|Sitka spruce]] (''Picea sitchensis'') provided 78% of the nesting trees used by eagles, followed by [[Tsuga|hemlocks]] (''Tsuga'') at 20%.<ref name="Suring"/> Increasingly, eagles nest in human-made reservoirs stocked with fish.<ref name="FPL"/>

[[File:2010-bald-eagle-with-fish.jpg|thumb|left|With freshly caught fish in [[Kodiak Island|Kodiak]]]]
The bald eagle is usually quite sensitive to human activity while nesting, and is found most commonly in areas with minimal human disturbance. It chooses sites more than {{convert|1.2|km|mi|abbr=on}} from low-density human disturbance and more than {{convert|1.8|km|mi|abbr=on}} from medium- to high-density human disturbance.<ref name="Gov"/> However, bald eagles will occasionally nest in large estuaries or secluded groves within major cities, such as Hardtack Island on the [[Willamette River]] in [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]], Oregon or [[John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum]] in [[Philadelphia]], Pennsylvania, which are surrounded by a great quantity of human activity.<ref name=r3/><ref name=r4/> Even more contrary to the usual sensitivity to disturbance, a family of bald eagles moved to the [[Harlem]] neighborhood in New York City in 2010.<ref name=r5/>

While wintering, bald eagles tend to be less habitat and disturbance sensitive. They will commonly congregate at spots with plentiful perches and waters with plentiful prey and (in northern climes) partially unfrozen waters. Alternately, non-breeding or wintering bald eagles, particularly in areas with a lack of human disturbance, spend their time in various upland, terrestrial habitats sometimes quite far away from waterways. In the northern half of North America (especially the interior portion), this terrestrial inhabitance by bald eagles tends to be especially prevalent because unfrozen water may not be accessible. Upland wintering habitats often consist of open habitats with concentrations of medium-sized mammals, such as [[prairie]]s, [[meadow]]s or [[tundra]], or open forests with regular carrion access.<ref name="Travsky"/><ref name="Suring"/>