Bald Eagles on the Seal Cam

The Gray Seal Cam is also great for rare bird watching. Bald Eagles are a common sighting as they scavenge on seal placenta and already dead seal pups. A sad reality that completes the circle of life for these once-endangered scavenger birds.

“Loss of habitat, shooting, and especially poisoning by the pesticide DDT, were responsible for this species’ once-precipitous decline. Increased legal protection, including placing the species on the Endangered Species List and banning the use of DDT, has brought this bird back from the edge. In 1995 the bird was reclassified as “Threatened;” today, it has been removed from both the Endangered and Threatened Species Lists altogether.”

Check out the Gray Seal Pupping Cam today and catch other sightings of unusual winter seabirds on Seal Island, such as Iceland Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Snow Buntings and Ravens. (Read more at Audubon.)