Nature

Child This episode is part of the series Wild Critters USA, a collaboration between Orbit, PBS Nature, and the National Rob - Host All right, Hank.

Rob - Host According to our Wild Critters USA road trip map, we've made it all the way to Alaska.

Rob - Host The largest state in the whole United States.

Rob - Host And we have a very important delivery to make.

Rob - Host Let's see where we're supposed to take this package.

Rob - Host It says to Mr.

Rob - Host and Mrs.

Rob - Host Eagle, address, top of giant tree next to beautiful river, middle of Alaskan wilderness.

Rob - Host I know, that's a pretty unusual address.

Rob - Host And wait until you see the package.

Rob - Host This thing is humongous.

Rob - Host Hank, look over there.

Rob - Host Do you think that's the tree?

Rob - Host Yes, the super tall one.

Rob - Host I think that's it.

Rob - Host Let's bring Mr.

Rob - Host and Mrs.

Rob - Host Eagle their package.

Rob - Host They're going to be so excited.

Rob - Host Okay, let's grab the box.

Rob - Host Gosh, this is so heavy.

Rob - Host What is in here?

Rob - Host Do you think it's bricks?

Rob - Host Or bowling balls?

Rob - Host Or a baby elephant?

Rob - Host Okay, finally open.

Rob - Host Let's look inside.

Rob - Host Wait.

Rob - Host Sticks?

Rob - Host Who orders a box of sticks?

Rob - Host You think they're building a nest?

Rob - Host No way.

Rob - Host This is enough sticks to build a whole tree house.

Rob - Host Wait, are you telling me that some bald eagle's nests can be bigger than a car?

Rob - Host Now I'm really curious.

Rob - Host Hey Orbiters, today we're going to learn about one of North America's most famous wild critters, the bald eagle.

Rob - Host You Orbiters sent in some fantastic questions.

Child How do bald Child Eagles hunt.

Child My question is, where do bald eagles build their nests?

Child How can we help bald eagles survive?

Rob - Host And to help us out, we have an awesome eagle expert.

Rob - Host Her name is Mrs.

Rob - Host Ulgonda, and she's an eagle biologist with the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Rob - Host Welcome to orbit, Ms.

Rob - Host Ulgonda.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Hi, Rob.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS My name is Ulgonda Dunlevy, and I work for the U.S.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Fish and Wildlife Service.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS It's a federal agency that helps manage plants, fish, and wildlife for the American people.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS I'm the eagle biologist for the Southeastern United States, and I am so excited that I get to Rob - Host I'm curious, what were you like as a kid?

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS I grew up in Phoenix, Arizona in the desert, so I didn't get to see a whole lot of eagles when I was Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS I asked the grownups around me lots of questions about the natural world and how things worked, so Rob - Host I know a lot of our orbiters ask questions every day, just like you when you were a girl.

Rob - Host Speaking of questions, I have one to get us started.

Rob - Host I've seen a lot of symbols of the bald eagle in the United States.

Rob - Host I've seen bald eagles on some government buildings, on official seals and badges, and even on the back of the quarter Rob - Host Why are bald eagles so important to the United States?

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Well, bald eagles are so important in the United States because they became our national symbol.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS They were first featured on the Great Seal of the United States in 1782.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS So eagles are kind of like our country's mascot.

Rob - Host A mascot is a symbol that represents a team or a group of people.

Rob - Host Just like a sports team might have a tiger or a bear mascot, the bald eagle is kind of like a mascot for the Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS To many people, bald eagles represent freedom, strength, and independence.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Eagles are also very important in Native American communities in our country.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS symbolizing courage, wisdom, and spirituality.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Bald eagles are very important in America, and besides, they're just so cool.

Rob - Host Let's get to this question from Ygritte.

Child My name is Ygritte Mostajo.

Child I'm 10 years old.

Child I live in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

Child And my question is, why are these eagles called bald eagles?

Child Thank you.

Child Bye.

Rob - Host And hey, Miss Ulgonda, I'd also like to know what a bald eagle looks like, just in case Rob - Host Hi, Egret.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Bald eagles are large birds of prey.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS That means that they hunt and eat other animals.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS The adults have a brown body, white tail feathers, and a white head.

Rob - Host Those white feathers on their head is the reason they're called bald eagles.

Rob - Host But the word bald didn't always mean without hair, like my Uncle Alfred or that one cat down the street that doesn't Rob - Host Hundreds of years ago, bald could also mean white-headed or marked with white.

Rob - Host When people first named the bald eagle, they were talking about its bright white head, not the fact that it Rob - Host Isn't that cool?

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Their beak is yellow and it's really quite sharp for tearing meat.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Their feet are also yellow and they have really long, sharp talons, which are like claws, so they can grab Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS If you stretch your arms out as far Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS I bet you still won't be as long as an eagle's wing, because their wings are about 6 to 8 feet Rob - Host Six to 8 feet is taller than most full-grown people.

Rob - Host So these are really big birds.

Rob - Host Something else that's really cool that Mrs.

Rob - Host Ulgonda told me is that the female bald eagles are bigger than the male bald eagles.

Rob - Host Hey, Mrs.

Rob - Host Ulgonda, where do bald eagles live?

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Well, Rob, bald eagles live everywhere in North America, from Canada all the way down to North America.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Northern Mexico.

Child My name is Axel, four years old.

Child What do eagles eat?

Child Thank you.

Child Bye.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Hi Axel.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Eagles like to eat just about anything that's easy to grab, but they really prefer fish.

Child Hi, my name is Alina.

Child I live in California and my question is, how do bald eagles hunt?

Child Bye Orbit.

Child I love the podcast.

Child Hi, my name is Natalia.

Child I am from Mexico.

Child I want to know how bald eagles hunt.

Child Goodbye.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS They catch fish by using their strong legs and talons.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS They will see a fish from really high up and swoop down to the water, put their feet down and grab the Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Sometimes they'll look for roadkill or animals that die near a road, like a deer or possum.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS That's because they're what we like to call an opportunistic scavenger.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS That means that they will always look for an easy meal.

Rob - Host Orbiters, there's a cool word in there.

Rob - Host The word is scavenger.

Rob - Host Want to say that with me?

Rob - Host On the count of three.

Rob - Host One, two, three.

Rob - Host Scavenger.

Rob - Host A scavenger is an animal that looks for food that is already dead instead of hunting it themselves.

Rob - Host Bald eagles do a little bit of both.

Rob - Host Hey orbiters, something else that Mrs.

Rob - Host Ulgonda told me is that the bald eagle used to be an endangered species.

Rob - Host We're going to learn more about their incredible comeback in a little bit.

Rob - Host But we received this question from Olivia Rose that I think is super important.

Child Hi, my name is Olivia Rose.

Child I am seven years old.

Child I live in Tataluma, California.

Child And my question is, what is an endangered species and how can we help them?

Child Thank you.

Rob - Host We brought this question to our friend, David Mizejewski.

Rob - Host Mr.

Rob - Host David is a science advisor for Ranger Rick Magazine from the National Wildlife Federation and is helping us out Rob - Host Hey, Mr.

Rob - Host David, can you help me and Olivia Rose understand what's an endangered species?

David Mizejewski That's such an important question, Olivia Rose.

David Mizejewski Endangered species are plants or animals that are disappearing and are in danger of going extinct forever.

David Mizejewski Species become endangered when they've lost their habitat or their food source, or because of David Mizejewski Unfortunately, human activity is the main reason species are becoming endangered today, and that's why David Mizejewski The great news is that there are some species, like the bald eagle, the American alligator, and the David Mizejewski were protected under the Endangered Species Act and now they're no longer endangered.

David Mizejewski But there are many others that are still in trouble, like red wolves, California condors, Florida Rob - Host And parents, if you'd like to continue learning about protecting endangered species, Ranger Rick Magazine has great Rob - Host I'll leave a link in the show notes.

Rob - Host Okay, Caleb and I want to learn about flying.

Child Hello, my name is Caleb.

Child Im 3 years old.

Child Question is, how fun can bodies fly?

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Orbiters, I don't know about you, but I think flying is so cool.

Rob - Host Everyone who thinks flying is cool, raise both your hands.

Rob - Host Oh, sorry, Hank.

Rob - Host Raise both your hands or one of your paws.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS I wish I could fly like an eagle because eagles are excellent flyers.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS They can sometimes fly over 100 miles during migration.

Rob - Host If you were driving a car, it would take you about two hours driving on a highway to reach 100 miles.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS That's when they're going from one place to another for food or to find mates.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS They can fly as high as 10,000 feet, but they'll usually fly around 1 to 2,000 feet above the ground.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS And they can fly around 30 to 40 miles an hour.

Rob - Host Orbiters, Mrs.

Rob - Host Ulgonda said something that I think is totally wacko, insane, amazing.

Rob - Host She said bald eagles can fly as high as 10,000 feet.

Rob - Host That's more than 3 kilometers.

Rob - Host Here's some ways to imagine 10,000 feet.

Rob - Host Imagine 10 skyscrapers stacked on top of each other, or as high as the fluffy cumulus clouds that you Rob - Host Or if you could walk straight into the air, it would take you more than 30 minutes to reach 10,000 feet.

Rob - Host Isn't that crazy?

Child Hi, it's me, Sam.

Child I live in Newfoundland, New Jersey.

Child I'm seven years old.

Child And my question is, I know they have super good eyesight, but exactly how far can they see?

Child Could they see my sandwich from all the way up in the clouds if I'm having a picnic at the park?

Child Thank you.

Child Bye.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Howdy, Sam.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS That is such a good question.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS There's a great saying when you can see really well, it's called having an eagle eye.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS The reason they say this is because bald eagles have super duper eyesight.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Their eyesight has to be really good so they can find prey or food and so they can defend their Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS In fact, eagles have some of the best eyesight of any animal anywhere.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Eagles can see 4 to 8 times better than what a human can see.

Rob - Host Here's something families could do together.

Rob - Host Choose an object like a cool book cover or a piece of art and put it 4 feet or about 1 meter away.

Rob - Host See how many details you can see.

Rob - Host Probably A lot.

Rob - Host Then move the object to the other side of the room, about 20 feet or 7 meters away.

Rob - Host How many details can you see now?

Rob - Host If you were a bald eagle, you could see all the details, even though it's far away now.

Rob - Host And probably a lot more details, especially if it's Rob - Host painting of a mouse or a fish.

Rob - Host You can pause here if you'd like, or I'll put the instructions in the show notes so that you can do it after you Rob - Host Hey, Mrs.

Rob - Host Ulgonda, what about Sam's picnic sandwich?

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS So, yeah, I bet an eagle could even see your sandwich from way up in the clouds if you were having a Rob - Host Hey Orbiters, we're about to learn about the incredible bald eagle nests.

Rob - Host They are so cool.

Rob - Host But first, let's pause for a mystery sound.

Rob - Host You can move around and wiggle while you listen and think about what the sound is.

Rob - Host Here's a hint in the form of a riddle.

Rob - Host I punch the ground but have no fists.

Rob - Host What am I?

Rob - Host Stick around to the end for the answer.

Rob - Host Okay, let's start learning about bald eagle nests.

Child Hello, my name is Josh and I'm four years old and I live from Houston, Texas.

Child My question is where do bald eagles build their nests?

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Hi Josh.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Bald eagles like to build their nest in tall trees.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS They usually pick the tallest tree that has an open crown.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS That's the top of the tree so they can get in and out of their nest easier.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS If there aren't many tall trees around though, sometimes eagles will nest on tall structures like Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Their nests weigh a lot so it must be strong and sturdy.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS They will usually build their nest close to water so it's easy for them to get food.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS But they build their nests using branches and sticks from nearby trees and bushes.

Rob - Host And do mommy and daddy bald eagles work together on the nests, Mrs.

Rob - Host Yolganda.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Both the male and the female will bring sticks to the nest and they will weave them on top of each other, Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS They will add moss and grass to the middle to make sure it's soft and it makes the perfect spot Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS to lay eggs.

Rob - Host Mrs.

Rob - Host Ulgonda told me something really cool.

Rob - Host Bald eagles don't ever throw anything away.

Rob - Host It would be kind of like if your room got messy, but instead of cleaning it up, you just kept bringing new toys and Rob - Host No Hank, Orbiters are not like bald eagles.

Rob - Host I bet we all have very clean rooms.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS They keep adding sticks to it every year.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS And some eagles will use a nest for a long time, up to 20 years or more.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS So you could see how it gets to be so big and heavy.

Rob - Host Mrs.

Rob - Host Ulgonda told me one nest in Florida got so big, it was 20 feet deep, which is as tall as three basketball players Rob - Host And it weighed as much as a pickup truck.

Rob - Host Hey, Mrs.

Rob - Host Ulgonda.

Rob - Host So they have these really huge, super messy nests.

Rob - Host Remy and I have a question about the eggs that go into those nests.

Child My name is Remy.

Child I'm 7 years old.

Child I live in Miami, Florida.

Child My question is, how do eagles make eggs and how do the baby eagles get inside and how do eagles make baby eagles?

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Hi Remy, such a great question.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS it actually takes a lot of work for the female bald eagle to make an egg.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS The process takes her about 10 to 12 days to form an egg.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS First, she makes a yolk.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS But it's not like a chicken egg yolk, it's microscopic.

Rob - Host The itsy bitsy yolk is inside the mama eagle until one day, it gets fertilized.

Rob - Host Fertilized is a science word that means that a tiny egg cell from the mother joins with a sperm cell from the Rob - Host Once that happens, a baby eagle can begin to grow.

Rob - Host Okay, now let's follow the fertilized egg.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Then it continues moving down, collecting layers of proteins that are called albumin or egg Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Think of these like the protection or soft pillows protecting the fertilized yolk.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS After this, calcium from the female eagle's own bones is used to help form the hard outer shell Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS And that's what keeps everything inside safe.

Rob - Host Isn't that amazing, Orbiters?

Rob - Host So when you see a bald eagle's egg in a nest, or any bird egg, like a chicken egg, now you know that the Rob - Host Nature is so amazing.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Inside, the fertilized yolk forms a baby eagle, and after the female lays the egg, the eaglet grows for Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Now she does this another two to three times during the breeding season.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS That's a lot of work.

Rob - Host You're right.

Rob - Host That does sound like hard work.

Rob - Host Hey, Mrs.

Rob - Host Ulgonda, what happens at the end of the 35 days?

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Well, both the male and the female adult bald eagles will take turns incubating the eggs, which means Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS They keep them warm by staying on top of the eggs, only getting up to switch places with the other Rob - Host Did you hear the word incubation orbiters?

Rob - Host We learned about that in an episode about alligators.

Rob - Host Incubation means keeping the eggs warm while the babies develop inside.

Rob - Host Mama alligators use the heat from decomposing plants to incubate their eggs, while eagle moms and dads sit gently Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS It's a full-time job.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS In around 35 days, the eggs will start to hatch.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS The little eaglet will use something called an egg tooth.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS This is a sharp point on their beak that the eaglet uses to create a small opening in the egg called Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS And from there, they use that small opening to break open the egg and wiggle out and greet the Rob - Host Wow.

Rob - Host Okay, so now we have a baby eagle, which is called an eaglet.

Rob - Host What do the eaglets look like?

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Newly hatched eaglets are covered in soft, light gray down, which is a soft, fluffy type of feather.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Actual feathers begin to appear around day 24.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS In fact, the young eaglets cannot keep themselves warm for about the first two weeks, so they really Rob - Host I bet that's some high quality family time with mom and dad.

Rob - Host Hey, Mrs.

Rob - Host Ulgonda, when did they start to fly?

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS The eaglets grow up super fast and are ready to fly on their own in about 12 weeks.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS They get ready to fly by doing something called branching.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS This is where they go out on a branch and they flap their wings really hard so they can get their Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS One day, they can fly all by themselves.

Rob - Host Sounds kind of like my little brother when he was learning how to walk and he kept falling down on his diaper.

Rob - Host So now they look like the famous bald eagle.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS They don't look like an eagle though, not just yet.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS They're covered in feathers, but it's mostly brown feathers.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS They don't look like a bald eagle until they're closer to five years old.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS But once they learn to fly, they're now called fledglings.

Rob - Host Hey, Mrs.

Rob - Host Yokanda, what happens next?

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Well, the fledglings will stay in the area around their nest called their territory and will learn how to Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Mom and dad are very good teachers, so they help the young fledglings learn how to take care of Rob - Host Wow.

Rob - Host So they're ready to go out on their own in just a few months?

Rob - Host That would be like a human baby saying, thanks for the help, mom, but I think I'm ready to go get a job and drive Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS After fledging, for the first four to five years, some eagles, but not all, will migrate or wander the Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS As the eagles get older, their feathers change from brown and white speckles to them slowly forming Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS That's the age when they began nest building and finding a mate on their own.

Rob - Host Isn't that special, orbiters?

Rob - Host Mrs.

Rob - Host Ulgonda has helped us understand how an incredible animal like the bald eagle grows from the moment that it starts Rob - Host Along the way, it breaks out of its egg using a pit, is cared for by its mommy and daddy, takes its first flaps Rob - Host learns how to fly as a fledgling, and within a few months, flies away to start its own family.

Rob - Host Every single one of the majestic, full-grown bald eagles with the white head and tail feathers goes through this Rob - Host Next time you see a bald eagle, imagine what it looked like as a fluffy little eaglet just coming out of its Rob - Host Hey, remember how we talked about endangered species earlier?

Rob - Host We got a question from our friend Christoball about this.

Child Hi Orbit, my name is Cristobal.

Child I live in Panama City.

Child I'm 6 years old and my question is what makes the bald eagle get in danger of extinction?

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Hi Cristobal, that's such a great question.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS One of the biggest threats to bald eagles before they were listed under the Endangered Species Act in Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS was the widespread use of a pesticide DDT.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS It's A synthetic insecticide.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS That's A fancy name for bug spray.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS But it was widely used in the US.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS And by the 1960s, bald eagle populations dropped so low that there were less than 1000 eagles were Rob - Host Wait a second.

Rob - Host I thought bug sprays were for bugs, not for eagles.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS That's because DDT caused the eggshells to be very thin and they couldn't hatch any eaglets.

Rob - Host This was kind of confusing for me.

Rob - Host So here's what happened.

Rob - Host Farmers were frustrated because insects were eating their tomatoes, corn, and spinach.

Rob - Host So they used a bug spray called DDT that kills insects before they can eat the plants.

Rob - Host But here's the thing.

Rob - Host The bug spray didn't stay on only the insects.

Rob - Host Some bug spray got into the water, and some insects were eaten by fish.

Rob - Host And then bigger fish ate those fish.

Rob - Host And then bald eagles ate the big fish.

Rob - Host And little by little, that bug spray moved through the food chain and built up inside the eagles' bodies.

Rob - Host Scientists discovered that this made the eagle eggshells very thin and weak, so many baby eaglets couldn't Rob - Host That meant fewer and fewer bald eagles were being born.

Rob - Host Mrs.

Rob - Host Ulgonda told me that this bug spray was banned from use in 1972.

Rob - Host And slowly but surely, eagles started having healthy eggs again.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS And now we estimate that there are over 316,000 individual bald eagles.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS here in the U.S.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS It's one of the greatest conservation success stories in our country.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS And the bald eagle was actually removed from the endangered species list, or it was delisted in Rob - Host Everybody join Hank and me doing a happy dance for the bald eagles.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS There are still issues facing eagles like poisons called anticoagulants and other things that can hurt Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS But if we keep working together and continue to manage bald eagles, we can keep their populations Rob - Host We'll learn more about how we can help bald eagles in a moment.

Rob - Host But first, let's take a quick wiggle break.

Rob - Host Today, I'd like you to pretend like you're a fledgling bald eagle flapping its wings and trying to learn Rob - Host And if it's your second or third time listening to the episode, you can instead be a full-grown bald eagle Rob - Host And while we're flapping our wings, let's recap what we've learned.

Rob - Host Bald eagles are powerful birds of prey that use incredible eyesight, sharp talons, and strong beaks to hunt Rob - Host We learned that they are the national symbol of the United States, and they build enormous nests that they can use Rob - Host We also followed the journey of a bald eagle from a tiny egg, to a fluffy eaglet, to a young fledgling learning to Rob - Host And we learned that bald eagles were once endangered because pesticides made their eggs weak.

Rob - Host But bald eagles have recovered, thanks to people working together to protect them and their habitats.

Child Hi, my name is Kenji.

Child I'm calling from Pasadena, California.

Child And my question is, how is it like to study and protect bald eagles?

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS You know, Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS I have really enjoyed my time working with eagles.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS They're just so special and they mean so much to so many people.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS I try to make sure that there's balance between saving eagles and helping people when they need to Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS So this is the true heart of conservation biology.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS It's working with people to achieve good things for eagles and other wildlife.

Child Hi, my name's Luna.

Child I'm six years old and I live in New York.

Child And my question is, how can we help bald eagles survive?

Child Hello, I am Luis Mario.

Child I am 5.

Child And my question is, how can we protect about eagles?

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Hey Orbiters, this is one of my favorite questions.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS There's just so much that we can all do every day for eagles and other birds.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Always throw away your trash, especially your fishing line.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Eagles and other birds can get tangled up in fishing line and get hurt.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS It's also important to be extra careful anytime you must use rat poison, because it can make eagles and Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS One other idea, we can all plant more trees.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Bald eagles need big, healthy trees to nest in.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS So if we all plant more trees, that will help bald eagles have somewhere to nest when they grow up.

Rob - Host I just love trees, don't you Orbiters?

Rob - Host Sometimes I like to just sit outside with my family and Hank and listen to the birds chirping and looking at trees.

Rob - Host Hank is usually looking for squirrels.

Rob - Host Hey, Mrs.

Rob - Host Ulgonda, thanks so much for joining us on Orbit today.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Rob, I had so much fun talking about eagles today, and I hope you enjoyed learning.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS I also hope that you and all of your listeners get to go outside and look for birds all around you Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Maybe, if you're lucky, you'll get to see a bald eagle.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Have fun and stay safe out there.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Happy exploring.

Ulgonda Dunlevy - FWS Bye.

Rob - Host Hey parents, our guest today was Ulgonda Dunlevy, an eagle biologist from the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Rob - Host We'll leave information about the US Fish and Wildlife Service in the show notes.

Rob - Host And hey, before we wrap up, I bet a few of you are curious about the mystery sound.

Rob - Host Do you remember it?

Rob - Host If you said it's a jackhammer, you were right.

Rob - Host Way to go.

Rob - Host This episode is part of the Wild Critter series, a collaboration with our friends at PBS Nature and the National Rob - Host Orbit is produced by Kumbre Kids.

Rob - Host This episode was written by me, Robert Carpenter.

Rob - Host The producer is Herwin Riana.

Rob - Host Artwork for the episode by Moises Monsalve and Jorge Uwik.

Rob - Host And parents, if you enjoyed this episode, can you think of any friends who you could share it with?

Rob - Host Recommendations from parents like you are the number one way that families learn about Orbit.

Rob - Host All right, we'll see you in the next episode, Orbiters.

Rob - Host Ciao.

Child The important thing is not to stop questioning Albert Einstein.