Bald Eagle Tracks

Pop quiz: what’s the largest winter wildlife track you’ll find on PEI?  Coyote is our largest animal, so that would be a reasonable – but wrong – guess. Snowshoe Hare’s hind feet are pretty big, but not the largest. The honour goes to an animal you may not have thought of: the Bald Eagle.

When identifying bird tracks, toe arrangement is a helpful starting clue. Here we see three long toes pointing forward and one long toe pointing back, in what’s called the classic (aka anisodactyl) arrangement. Many of our birds have this toe arrangement, so this narrows down the suspect pool but doesn’t confirm the culprit.

Fortunately, size makes Bald Eagle tracks distinctive. Bird tracks are measured from claw to claw, making this track is about seven inches long. (The inset photo, taken from a taxidermy mount, shows just how impressive those claws are!). Eagle tracks can exceed eight inches, and so it’s likely this track was left by a male; with Eagles, males are smaller than females and juveniles are the same size as adults.

The Bald Eagle’s middle toe is closer to the inner toe than it is to the outer toe, telling us which foot made the track. In this case, it was the right foot. 

Bald Eagles are a conservation success story, both here on PEI and throughout their range. During the 1950s and early ‘60s, there were no Bald Eagle nests on the Island; from 1966 to 1981, we had just a single known nest. Today, there are dozens of nests, hundreds of birds, and Bald Eagles are ranked as secure in the province. Legal protection, habitat conservation, and prohibiting the pesticide DDT all contributed to Bald Eagle recovery.

Bald Eagles will soon be re-establishing their breeding territories and repairing or building nests, making this an especially important time to give them space. Disturbing Eagles between March and June can interrupt incubation of eggs, interfere with protection and feeding of young, or cause not-quite-fledged young to jump from the nest. It’s a tempting time of year for sightseers and photographers, but the only safe and ethical way to view Eagles is from a distance with binoculars or a long lens.

You may not be lucky enough to find a Bald Eagle track, but keep your eye to the sky and you’ll likely spot this majestic part of PEI Untamed!