Dickens the Bald Eagle

This is the story of Dickens, the bald eagle boy, and those of his family who came before him. The entire species of the bald eagle nearly vanished about fifty years ago. Most of Dickens’ ancestors could not raise surviving eaglets. In fact, most of their babies never hatched because the egg shells were too thin to protect them while they matured. There was a pesticide being used called DDT that caused this thinning. Unlike his ancestors, Dickens is free to hunt and fish, soaring on the top of the winds high above the Land of Terra.

You might think that the loss of just one kind of bird is not so bad, but this is not the case. Many years ago, conservationists realized that our actions were harmful to birds and they fought to correct our mistakes. The protections that were put into place in the 1960s helped the bald eagle species to recover. Someday soon, Dickens will find a mate and together they will raise eaglets of their own. Mother and father will share in the care of their young - one will hunt and fish while the other tends the nest. This is just amazing after the bald eagle came so close to leaving the Land of Terra forever. Perhaps if we can solve this serious problem, we can solve another …