Photo of the Day
A bald eagle over a Wisconsin wetland
Thursday 17 September 2026
It's Constitution Day in the United States.
A bald eagle in flight over a wetland in Burnett County, Wisconsin, photographed by a US Fish and Wildlife Service biologist. The United States adopted the eagle as its national emblem in 1782, five years before the Constitution was signed on 17 September 1787.
Fun facts
- A bald eagle's wingspan can reach about 2.3 metres (7.5 feet). source ↗
- Their nests are the largest of any North American bird; one in Florida weighed almost three tonnes. source ↗
- The famous screech in films is usually a red-tailed hawk. A real bald eagle's call is a high-pitched chirping. source ↗
- There were fewer than 500 nesting pairs in the lower 48 states in 1963; there are now more than 70,000. source ↗
- Image
- Courtney Celley / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Licence
- Public domain
- Source
- Wikimedia Commons