The Eagle has landed

News service photo Several excited citizens in the Flo area claim to have seen a bald eagle in the Buffalo Creek Bottoms off of FM 831. Although the sighting are not common they do occur from time to time and "thrilling" is the best word to describe the reaction.

These female beauties average a wingspan of 7' and males are not far behind with 6.5'. They fly with very deep strokes and then soar on flattened wings.

Bald eagles were offi- cially declared an endangered species in 1967 in all areas of the United States south of the 40th parallel. In July of 1995, the US Fish and Wildlife Service upgraded the status of bald eagles in the lower 48 states to "threatened." On June 28, 2007 the Interior Department took the American bald eagle off the Endangered Species List. The bald eagle is still protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.