Bird

Bald Eagle

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Lives in Virginia all year and nests here. Found in 61 of 133 counties and cities, across 25 habitats.

Here: All year
Nesting: Nests here
Range: 61 of 133 counties and cities
Habitats: 25

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: 61 of 133 counties and cities
Habitats: 25
Habitat models: Summer, Winter

Where it lives

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

Habitats in Virginia 25

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

1 of 25

SummerWinterSouthern Piedmont Cliff; Southern Appalachian Montane CliffWilliam Frerichs, North Carolina Mountain Landscape: rocky bluffs and ledges above a river in the Carolina mountains. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: North Carolina mountains (William C. A. Frerichs), a neighboring state.North Carolina Mountain Landscape, William Charles Anthony Frerichs, c. 1855-1870. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterNorth-Central Appalachian Acidic Cliff and TalusBald Face above Lake Fairfield, Sapphire, North Carolina: a bare granite dome rising above forest and a still lake (photochrom print, about 1902). Shown: Bald Face (Big Bald Face) above Lake Fairfield, Sapphire, Jackson County, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Bald Face from Lake Fairfield, Sapphire, N.C., Detroit Publishing Co. (photochrom print), c. 1902. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterAppalachian Hemlock-Hardwood ForestRegional / representative. Shown: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee; representative habitat composite, not a documented exact viewpoint, a neighboring state.Hemlock forest / rocky mountain stream, Hynes, Robert 'Bob', by 2012. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterSouthern Piedmont Mesic Forest; Southern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest; South-Central Interior Mesophytic Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood and Mixed ForestHarvey Joiner, Woods Scene: tall beeches in a moist Kentucky woodland, light falling through a closed canopy onto a damp forest floor. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Kentucky beech woods (Harvey Joiner, Louisville painter of Kentucky beech forests; the painting does not name the site), a neighboring state.Woods Scene, Harvey Joiner, c. 1880-1920. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterSouthern and Central Appalachian Cove ForestRegional / representative. Shown: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee; representative habitat composite, not a documented exact viewpoint, a neighboring state.Cove hardwood forest, Hynes, Robert 'Bob', by 2012. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterCentral Interior and Appalachian Riparian SystemsFrederic Edwin Church, Autumn Landscape in North Carolina (1865-70): a boulder-strewn mountain river under autumn-coloured ridges. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: North Carolina mountains (Frederic Edwin Church, oil sketch 1865-70; Cooper Hewitt), a neighboring state.Drawing, Autumn Landscape in North Carolina, 1865–70, Frederic Edwin Church, 1865-1870. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterCentral Interior and Appalachian Swamp Systems; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp; Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa ModifierWilliam McIlvaine, The Chickahominy Swamp (1862): wind-tossed swamp trees standing in dark water under a storm. Chickahominy Swamp, VirginiaThe Chickahominy Swamp LCCN2004661405, William McIlvaine (1813-1867), 1862. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.

SummerWinterUnconsolidated Shore (Beach/Dune); Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Interdunal Wetland

Coastal tidal marshes (salinity not stated)

Tidal marshes of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts where the source does not say whether the water is fresh, brackish or salt. A stated salinity files the marsh under freshwater tidal marshes or salt and brackish marshes instead.

SummerWinter

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.

SummerWinterAtlantic 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 and Central Appalachian Oak Forest - Xeric; Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Hardwood; Central and Southern Appalachian Montane Oak Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest; Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Hardwood Modifier; Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry Hardwood Forest; Central Appalachian Oak and Pine Forest; Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest; Southern Appalachian Montane Pine Forest and Woodland; Southern Appalachian Low Mountain Pine 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; Central Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier; South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier; Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; Central Interior and Appalachian Floodplain Systems; Central Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest; South-Central Interior Large Floodplain

Forests and woodlands

Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.

SummerWinterSouthern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine Modifier

Freshwater tidal marshes

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

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh; Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Fresh and Oligohaline Tidal Marsh

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Open, thin-soil openings and rock on limestone, dolomite or other lime-rich rock, including cedar glades.

SummerWinterSouthern Interior Calcareous Cliff

Hardwood and oak flatwoods

Flat, poorly drained uplands and terraces with oaks, sweetgum and sometimes loblolly pine, wet in winter and dry in summer, but neither a floodplain nor a swamp.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Central Maritime Forest

Moderately dry forests

Forests between dry and moist, often oak-hickory on slopes.

SummerWinterNortheastern Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest; Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest

Northern hardwood forests

High mountain forests of beech, yellow birch and sugar maple, including boulderfield forests.

SummerWinter

Pine flatwoods

Flat, sandy Coastal Plain pine woodlands, wetter than sandhills and denser than savannas.

SummerWinterCentral Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods

Pine savannas

Open, fire-kept longleaf pine stands over grasses and wildflowers on wet to moist sandy soil.

SummerWinterCentral Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Still water and its edges: ponds, lakes, millponds and reservoirs.

SummerWinterOpen Water (Fresh); Atlantic Coastal Plain Large Natural Lakeshore

Salt and brackish marshes

Coastal marshes flooded by salty or brackish tides.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Salt and Brackish Marsh; Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Salt Marsh

Sounds, bays and tidal flats

Salt and brackish open water of sounds, bays and estuaries, with the mud and sand flats and seagrass beds that tides cover and uncover; the vegetated marsh is salt and brackish marshes.

SummerWinterOpen Water (Brackish/Salt)

Other habitats in its models (126)

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

In Virginia 2

Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Summer and winter.
North-Central Appalachian Circumneutral Cliff and Talus Summer and winter.

Elsewhere in the South (68)

Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Indian River Lagoon Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods 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 Florida Herbaceous Pondshore Summer and winter.
Central Florida Pine 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 Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods 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 Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Mesic Slope Forest Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp Summer and winter.
East-Central Texas Plains Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
Florida Big Bend Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
Florida Big Bend Salt-Brackish Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
Floridian Highlands Freshwater Marsh 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.
Mississippi Sound Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh 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 Florida Bayhead Swamp Summer and winter.
South Florida Cypress Dome Summer and winter.
South Florida Everglades Sawgrass Marsh Summer and winter.
South Florida Freshwater Slough and Gator Hole Summer and winter.
South Florida Hardwood Hammock Summer and winter.
South Florida Mangrove Swamp Summer and winter.
South Florida Pine Flatwoods Summer and winter.
South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Summer and winter.
Southeastern Interior Longleaf Pine Woodland Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Hydric Hammock Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress Dome Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and Hammock Summer and winter.
Southern Crowley's Ridge Mesic Loess Slope Forest Summer and winter.
Southern Interior Acid Cliff Summer and winter.
Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
Southwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock 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 (1)

North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods 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 (38)

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.
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 - Forest 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 Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory 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 - Open Understory Modifier 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 - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Clethra Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Nupea Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Taxodium Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed 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 Virginia

Year-round: nests here, in 56 of 133 counties and cities.
Winter: does not nest here, in 22 of 133 counties and cities.
Summer: nests here, in 2 of 133 counties and cities.

County or city

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Virginia, 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 Virginia; these are its 3 most characteristic.