When people think of backyard birds, the Bald Eagle is not a species that typically springs to mind. However, lots of people all over the province have successfully attracted Bald Eagles to their backyards. One of the reasons Nova Scotians are so successful at attracting eagles is that we have the largest winter concentration of Bald Eagles in eastern North America. A good deal of the Bald Eagle attracting fad can be traced back to the efforts of Cyril Coldwell of Kings County. In 1968, Cyril wanted to study ravens so he placed out animal carcasses to draw them to his property. As expected, the ravens arrived; unexpectedly, so did the Bald Eagles. As news of his Bald Eagle feeding spread, many other people decided to give it a try, including chicken farmers who often have lots of meat they can place out.

However, you do not have to own a chicken farm or live in the country to draw the Bald Eagles to your yard. Bald Eagles can be found all over the province in winter and I personally know people both in Dartmouth and Windsor who have been able to entice an eagle to visit. Bearing in mind that what attracts these birds is carrion, you may wish to reflect upon the consequences of starting an eagle feeding program in your neighbourhood.

Many people are surprised to hear that it takes about five years for Bald Eagles to acquire their white heads. Immature Bald Eagles are frequently mistaken for Golden Eagles for that reason. A commonly heard statement is "I know it was a Golden Eagle as it was much bigger than the Bald Eagles I have seen." It is a common misconception that Golden Eagles are larger than Bald Eagles when in fact Bald Eagles are the largest eagles in North America. In addition, Golden Eagles are migratory birds which leave colder climates in winter. In Nova Scotia, if we are lucky, we will see one or two Golden Eagles in the spring and a few in the fall.