Bald Eagle

A majestic bald eagle perches on a tree branch, overlooking a lush forest.

Bald eagles almost disappeared in the 1970s because of a chemical called DDT, which made their eggshells too thin to survive. It's honestly one of the best comeback stories in nature. Once DDT was banned and the species got legal protection, eagle numbers slowly climbed back, and now you can spot them regularly around Issaquah, especially near the water and during the salmon runs in fall.

They're easy to recognize once they're adults, with that white head and tail against a dark brown body. But here's something a lot of people don't know: young bald eagles don't have the white head at all. For their first four or five years, they're mostly a mottled brown all over, so a young eagle can actually look more like a large hawk than the eagle you picture in your head. Their wingspan is honestly one of the most impressive things about them, usually somewhere between six and seven and a half feet across, which is wider than most people are tall.

Fish make up most of their diet, especially salmon and trout, which is exactly why they stick close to lakes, rivers, and creeks. They will swoop down and grab fish right out of the water with their talons, but they're not above stealing a meal from another bird either, or eating roadkill if it's easy. Around Issaquah, they're drawn to the salmon runs in fall for the same reason people love watching them, it's an easy, reliable food source.

A Bald Eagle swoops down with outstretched talons, targeting a salmon carcass on snow-dusted rocks near the water's edge.

They like to nest in tall trees close to water, usually conifers with a good view over the shoreline. And their nests are honestly kind of ridiculous once you learn the details. Bald eagles build the largest nests of any North American bird, made mostly of sticks and branches, and they reuse and add onto the same nest year after year. Some nests get so big over time that they can weigh over a thousand pounds and stretch more than eight feet across, all from just adding a few more sticks each season.

The iconic high-pitched eagle scream you hear in movies and shows almost never comes from a real bald eagle. Their actual call is a much weaker, chirpy whistle, so sound designers usually swap in a red-tailed hawk's call instead because it sounds more powerful. Kind of funny once you know it.

Next time you're near the water and see a big bird circling slowly overhead, take a second look. It might just be one of Issaquah's bald eagles!

Citations:

Grimsmo, Ingvar. Bald Eagle in Canada. 6 May 2017. Urban Raptor, https://urbanraptor.org/seattle-urban-raptors/bald-eagle/. Accessed 7 July 2026.

Shetzer, Matt. Hunting Eagle and Salmon Carcass. Shetzer’s Photography, https://www.shetzers.com/hunting-eagle-and-salmon-carcass/. Accessed 7 July 2026.