With around 1500 nesting pairs, Florida has one of the largest populations of Bald Eagles in the lower 48 states with only Minnesota at 9,800 nesting pairs having more. States with similar numbers to Florida are Wisconsin (1,500 nesting pairs) and Maryland (1,400 nesting pairs). Bald Eagles represent one of the great wildlife conservation success stories demonstrating what can be achieved when proper protections are implemented to save an endangered species. The other 70,000 nesting pairs currently in the lower 48 is double the reported number from 2009 and a massive increase from the reported 417 in 1963.
The Bald Eagle is the national symbol of the United States. They are magnificent raptors with wingspans of up to eight feet. It is not uncommon to see them soaring over Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon, and they have even been spotted perched on top of resort hotels and attractions such as Space Mountain. We have seen several Bald Eagles at Disney World over the years, usually while staying at the Wilderness Lodge. In October 2010, while in a speed boat on Bay Lake near the Lodge, we were fortunate enough to see a Bald Eagle dive bomb an Osprey that had just caught a fish. The Osprey, which was about half the size of the Eagle, wisely dropped the fish, which the opportunistic Eagle quickly grabbed.
Although not in the wild, one way to guarantee a live Bald Eagle sighting at Disney World is to attend the Feathered Friends in Flight show at Animal Kingdom. For an Audio-Animatronic Bald Eagle, you can go to Hollywood Studios and ride Rockin’ Roller Coaster Staring the Muppets, which features the intensely patriotic Muppet, Sam the Eagle.
Many of you may also fondly remember another Sam the Eagle, the patriotic bald eagle voiced by the late Burl Ives, who was one of the Masters of Ceremonies of Disneyland’s America Sings, which ran from June 29, 1974 to April 10, 1988. Disney built the attraction, which featured Audio-Animatronic animals singing songs from America’s musical history, to celebrate America’s Bicentennial. This version of Sam the Eagle even served as a mascot for the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.
After the attraction closed many of the Audio-Animatronics were moved to Splash Mountain while the skeletons of two Audio-Animatronic geese were used for the G2 droids in the ride queue at Star Tours. Notably, after Splash Mountain closed in 2023 many of the Audio-Animatronic animals, including those from America Sings are being preserved by Disney archivists, according to media reports.
Another great way to see Bald Eagles on your Disney vacation is to take a Disney Alaska Cruise. With over 30,000 nesting pairs, Alaska has almost half as many nesting pairs as all of the states in the lower 48 combined and if you go to Alaska, it is almost a guarantee that you will spot some of these beautiful birds. One may even try to steal your fish while you are enjoying a salmon fishing port excursion, which happened to us in 2018.