Bird

Bald Eagle

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Lives in Florida all year and nests here. Found in all 67 counties, across 19 habitats.

Here: All year
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 67 counties
Habitats: 19

Male Bald Eagle, whole bird — **Male**. (c) Justin Flint, some rights reserved (CC BY). CC BY. iNaturalist photo 308314607. iNaturalist large derivative; no local crop or retouch.

At a glance

Group: Birds
Here: All year
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 67 counties
Habitats: 19
Habitat models: Summer, Winter

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in Florida 19

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 19

SummerWinterUnconsolidated Shore (Beach/Dune); Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Interdunal WetlandGeorge Catlin, White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola (1834-35): high white dunes with scattered clumps of dune plants above the Gulf. Santa Rosa Island near Pensacola, FloridaWhite Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola, George Catlin (1796-1872), 1834-1835. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterSouth Florida Hardwood Hammock; Southern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and Hammock; Southern Coastal Plain Hydric HammockWinslow Homer, In the Jungle, Florida (1904): cabbage palms, saw palmetto and fallen trunks in a dense, shady hammock, with a wildcat in the branches. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Florida (Winslow Homer, In the Jungle, Florida, 1904)*In the Jungle, Florida*, Winslow Homer, 1904. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterMartin Johnson Heade, On the San Sebastian River (c. 1883-90): a tidal river winding through flat marsh under storm clouds at sunset. San Sebastian River, St. Augustine, FloridaOn the San Sebastian River, Floridalabel QS:Len,"On the San Sebastian River, Florida", Martin Johnson Heade, c. 1883-1890. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterSouthern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Nupea Modifier; South Florida Everglades Sawgrass Marsh; Floridian Highlands Freshwater Marsh; South Florida Freshwater Slough and Gator HoleMartin Johnson Heade, The Great Florida Marsh (1886): open marsh and lily-dotted water beneath live oaks and cabbage palms. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Florida (Heade, The Great Florida Marsh, 1886; North Carolina Museum of Art)*The Great Florida Marsh*, Martin Johnson Heade, 1886. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier; South Florida Pine Flatwoods; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods; Central Florida Pine Flatwoods; East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine FlatwoodsGeorge Inness, Georgia Pines (1890): tall, straight pines over an open, grassy floor in a south Georgia pine woods. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Georgia pine woods (George Inness, 1890; site not named), a neighboring state.Georgia Pines, George Inness (1825-1894), 1890. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and FlatwoodsGeorge Catlin, Beautiful Savannah in the Pine Woods of Florida (1834-35): an open grassy savanna with a shallow pond, ringed by tall pines, with palmettos and red wildflowers. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Pine woods of Florida (George Catlin, 1834-35; Smithsonian American Art Museum)*Beautiful Savannah in the Pine Woods of Florida*, George Catlin, 1834-1835. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterOpen Water (Fresh); Atlantic Coastal Plain Large Natural LakeshoreMartin Johnson Heade, Florida Sunrise: still water and a palm-fringed shore glowing at dawn. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Florida (Heade, Florida Sunrise, c. 1890-1900)*Florida Sunrisetitle QS:P1476,en:"Florida Sunrise"label QS:Len,"Florida Sunrise"*, Martin Johnson Heade, c. 1890-1900. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterOpen Water (Brackish/Salt)Thomas Moran, Fort George Island (1878): a tidal shore of wet sand and shallow water at the river mouth, with cabbage palms and a beached ship. Fort George Island, Florida (Thomas Moran, 1878; Smithsonian American Art Museum)*Fort George Island, Florida*, Thomas Moran, 1878. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterSouthern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Taxodium Modifier; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp; South Florida Bayhead Swamp; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp; South Florida Cypress Dome; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress DomeFlorida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha (1899): a dark swamp-lined river at sunset, with cypress and hardwoods crowding both banks. Ocklawaha River, FloridaFlorida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha, Detroit Photographic Co. (chromolithograph), 1899. Public domain. Source record.

Depression ponds and limesinks

Shallow ponds in Coastal Plain depressions, such as limesinks and the ponds in some Carolina bays, that rise and fall with the seasons.

SummerWinterCentral Florida Herbaceous Pondshore; Atlantic Coastal Plain Depression Pondshore

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

SummerWinter

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

SummerWinterSouthern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest; Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest

Freshwater tidal marshes

Marshes along tidal rivers where the water is fresh but rises and falls with the tide.

SummerWinterFlorida Big Bend Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh; Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh

Mangrove swamps

Tidal forests and thickets of red, black and white mangrove along sheltered tropical and subtropical shores.

SummerWinter

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

SummerWinterSouthwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock; East Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest

Moist forests

Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Mesic Slope Forest

Salt and brackish marshes

Coastal marshes flooded by salty or brackish tides.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Central Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh; Atlantic Coastal Plain Indian River Lagoon Tidal Marsh; Mississippi Sound Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh; Florida Big Bend Salt-Brackish Tidal Marsh

Sandhills

Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.

SummerWinterFlorida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Open Understory Modifier

Other habitats in its models (131)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Florida. Those recorded in Florida first, the rest by region.

In Florida 1

Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Summer and winter.

Elsewhere in the South (60)

Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Salt and Brackish Marsh Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood and Mixed Forest Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Xeric River Dune Summer and winter.
Central and South Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
Central and Southern Appalachian Montane Oak Forest Summer and winter.
Central and Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
Central Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer and winter.
Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest Summer and winter.
East-Central Texas Plains Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Summer and winter.
Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Summer and winter.
Mississippi Delta Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
Mississippi River Alluvial Plain Dry-Mesic Loess Slope Forest Summer and winter.
Mississippi River Bottomland Depression Summer and winter.
Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Summer and winter.
Mississippi River Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
Ouachita Montane Oak Forest Summer and winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Summer and winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
Red River Large Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Summer and winter.
South-Central Interior Large Floodplain Summer and winter.
South-Central Interior Mesophytic Forest Summer and winter.
Southeastern Interior Longleaf Pine Woodland Summer and winter.
Southern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest Summer and winter.
Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest Summer and winter.
Southern Appalachian Low Mountain Pine Forest Summer and winter.
Southern Appalachian Montane Cliff Summer and winter.
Southern Appalachian Montane Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
Southern Crowley's Ridge Mesic Loess Slope Forest Summer and winter.
Southern Interior Acid Cliff Summer and winter.
Southern Interior Calcareous Cliff Summer and winter.
Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
Southern Piedmont Cliff Summer and winter.
Southern Piedmont Mesic Forest Summer and winter.
Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Chenier and Upper Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer and winter.

Northeast (10)

Appalachian Hemlock-Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Fresh and Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Salt Marsh Summer and winter.
Central Appalachian Oak and Pine Forest Summer and winter.
North-Central Appalachian Acidic Cliff and Talus Summer and winter.
North-Central Appalachian Circumneutral Cliff and Talus Summer and winter.
North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Summer and winter.
Northeastern Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.

Midwest (7)

Central Interior Acidic Cliff and Talus Summer and winter.
Central Interior Calcareous Cliff and Talus Summer and winter.
Great Lakes Acidic Rocky Shore and Cliff Summer and winter.
North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest Summer and winter.
North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
North-Central Interior Maple-Basswood Forest Summer and winter.

West (10)

Central California Coast Ranges Cliff and Canyon Summer and winter.
Inter-Mountain Basins Cliff and Canyon Summer and winter.
Klamath-Siskiyou Cliff and Outcrop Summer and winter.
North American Warm Desert Bedrock Cliff and Outcrop Summer and winter.
North Pacific Coastal Cliff and Bluff Summer and winter.
North Pacific Montane Massive Bedrock, Cliff and Talus Summer and winter.
Rocky Mountain Cliff, Canyon and Massive Bedrock Summer and winter.
Sierra Nevada Cliff and Canyon Summer and winter.
Southern California Coast Ranges Cliff and Canyon Summer and winter.
Western Great Plains Cliff and Outcrop Summer and winter.

Land cover and other classes (43)

Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Hardwood Summer and winter.
Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-Line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa Modifier Summer and winter.
Central Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
Central Interior and Appalachian Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
Central Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems Summer and winter.
Central Interior and Appalachian Swamp Systems Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest - Offsite Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Virginia/Pitch Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest - Xeric Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Clethra Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest - Pine modifier Summer and winter.
Tamaulipan Riparian Systems Summer and winter.
Unconsolidated Shore Summer and winter.
Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Summer and winter.
Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.

All habitats

Seasons in Florida

Year-round: nests here, in all 67 counties.
Winter: does not nest here, in 2 of 67 counties.
Summer: nests here, in 14 of 67 counties.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Florida, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.

Bald Eagle uses many habitats in Florida; these are its 3 most characteristic.