So far in Hug This Animal, we’ve talked about the polar bear, cheetah and red panda.

Today, we’re going to Hug a Bird that is no longer threatened with extinction. The bald eagle, the national bird of the United States, is a conservation success story. It was one of the original species protected under the Endangered Species Act when it was started in 1973.

In June of 2007, the US Fish & Wildlife Service announced that the bald eagle was being removed from the list of threatened and endangered species. (The bird will remain protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.)

Although Alaska’s population of eagles were never threatened, the lower 48 states were home to only 400 nesting pairs of bald eagles in 1963. Today, there are around 10,000 nesting pairs in the lower 48 states! To see how the eagles are distributed by state, go here to download a PDF from the Fish & Wildlife Service.

Why were eagles in trouble?

This is an important question to consider. And the answer shows just how much our actions affect wildlife in ways we could never imagine.

It’s not really hunting that affected the eagle so much, though that was probably a factor as well. The bald eagle had been protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act since 1940, but the numbers declined drastically after World War II.

Unfortunately, use of the pesticide DDT was very widespread after World War II. This pesticide seriously affected eagle populations since the eggs that were laid by eagles with exposure had weakened shells.

The EPA banned the pesticide in 1972, and the Fish & Wildlife Service went to work. They started captive breeding programs, reintroductions, protecting habitat around nests and other preservation activities.

I went eagle watching this past Sunday. I saw two nests and one eagle, with its eye on the Mississippi River. I wasn’t close enough to get a good eagle photo, but I did get this nest photo.

If you’d like to get a good look at a bald eagle on your next visit to a zoo, go here to download a PDF of AZA zoos with bald eagles.

If you live near bald eagles, visit this Fish & Wildlife Service page to make sure you are not disturbing nesting bald eagles.

And don’t worry. I’ll be back next week with an endangered animal post.

Source for information for this eagle post is the US Fish & Wildlife Service.

Ok, I did a quick drawing and the winner of the Eco Wedding & Lifestyle Show pair of tickets is…

Katrina!

Many thanks to the folks behind the show for offering one of our readers some tickets. I’m sure the show will be amazing – wish I could go. Hopefully Katrina will let us know how it goes.

Also, thanks very much to all the b5 bloggers who helped us to get the word out about the give-a-way. It was short notice, and we really appreciated the help.

Congrats, Katrina and I’ll be sending you an email asap.

I’ve been meaning to do a post about greening feral cats, and an article on The Daily Cat reminded me to write about whiskers already. Over at The Daily Cat, there’s an article called Climate Change and Your Cat’s Health. The article says that the kitty birthrate is exploding because cats breed three times a year (as opposed to two) in warmer weather. Also, fleas and ticks are more plentiful in warmer weather.

So, what can you do to help offset the kitty birthrate explosion? Of course, have your cat spayed or neutered. But what about feral cats? The article says we don’t have much control over the feral cat population, but maybe we do.

Kittens born to feral colonies may end up in shelters. Some lucky ones are adopted. However, many never find homes and are euthanized or spend their lives in no-kill shelters. The photos you see were taken at a local no-kill shelter I visited recently.

Have you thought of the impact of a single cat?

There’s food, medical care and cat litter, not to mention toys and feeding bowls. All of that involves packaging and resources. So, while I do love kitties, I think we need to do a better job of controlling the feral (and homeless tame) cat population.

One way to help control the number of feral cats (and their kittens that end up in shelters) is through Trap Alter and Release or Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR). While this program has its opponents who say it’s better to euthanize a cat than prolong its tormented life outdoors, other groups, like Alley Cat Allies, believe that a cat can have a meaningful life outdoors.

And once the cat is altered, it no longer has the ability to make the cat population increase, duh. So, managed feral cat colonies are eventually humanely eliminated through removal of kittens and natural death of altered adults.

Here’s more info on how to get involved with TNR from Alley Cat Allies.

•Leave a comment before Friday morning on Jennifer’s post about the First Eco Wedding & Lifestyle Show in Canada, and you could win free tickets.

I learned about ecoEnvelopes from our friends over at ecofabulous in their recent post: Pushing this Envelope.

And I must say, how very awesome of the US Postal Service to approve the first ever reusable envelope. These babies delete the need for reply envelopes.

According to ecoEnvelopes, their product can cut business mailing costs by 15 to 45 percent. That’s some sweet change.

These envelopes use certified paper from managed sources.

You can head over to ecoEnvelopes to request some free samples for your company. And if you work at an ad agency, what a great item to suggest to the production team, eh?

Photo from ecoEnvelopes.

What am I reading – and what should you be reading? Well…

25 Alternative Energy Strategies from a green blog I was just introduced to, Wise Living Journal. Very homestead related, which I adore.

Hilary over at Eco Friendly Driver is in a mood this week (that’s ok, so am I). She’s got some cool rants about why people can’t just work together to get one flippin’ safety bill passed and all the whining GM is doing lately about the Volt auto.

Keetsa has the scoop on eco-friendly buses.

If Valentine’s day leftovers have you asking,”How can I reuse or recycle chalky candy hearts?” Well, How Can I Recycle This? knows the answer.

The Not Quite Crunchy Parent has a great list of item names you may see in cosmetics and body care products and what they mean. Good if you’d like to have cleaner, greener, personal care.

And last but not least, Eco Child’s Play has an outstanding looking book that all green (and somewhat hippie) mamas need for their kids.

Enjoy.

Diane MacEachern’s new book, Big Green Purse, will be released tomorrow. What’s so special about it?

The bestselling environmental author intends to help women (since they make most purchases) harness the power of their money by making spending decisions that will best help the environment.

She targets 20 areas where women can have the most impact in their spending. Some of these include cleansers, coffee, food, cars and appliances.

I don’t have a copy yet, but I plan on at least breezing through it at the bookstore. I’m especially interested to read her reviews of products that are marketed as green but really aren’t worth the bucks.

So, if you’re a weekend bookstore cruiser, check it out. Or go to the book’s website to learn more.

If you live in Connecticut or Massachusetts, you have a unique opportunity to help the declining turtle population in your area. These cute fellas are declining in number due to habitat fragmentation caused by new roads and homes.

An initiative of the Turtle Conservation Project, the New England Turtle Atlas needs citizens like to you report turtle sightings or turtle road kills.

Why? In order to help the declining turtle population, more information is needed on where the turtles live.

How do you become a turtle watcher? Sign up, read the training materials, and keep a camera handy to help verify your sightings. (Camera isn’t required, but it helps.) Then you report your sighting on the Turtle Atlas website. Voila! You’re an instant citizen scientist helping turtles.

•Leave a comment before Friday morning on Jennifer’s post about the First Eco Wedding & Lifestyle Show in Canada, and you could win free tickets.

During this Meatless Meals week, I thought you’d like to know about a neighboring blog in the Health & Science Channel: Veggie Chic by Jul.

One post you might especially like to try out is 5 ways to slowly go vegetarian. Or, semi-vegetarian, whatever your goals are.

Veggie Chic features recipes, tips on staying meatless while traveling and info on restaurants for veggies. And a lot more yum stuff.

Also, check out Weird and Wacky Facts. Wow, someone out there makes bacon-scented air fresheners.

One resource I chose to help me with my quest to eat more meatless meals is Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. I have owned his How to Cook Everything for years and have been greatly impressed. I won’t exactly call this a cookbook for dummies, but Bittman explains everything. And I do mean everything, but it’s not insulting. I like it. He also tells you which recipes are vegan and which are vegetarian.

Now, I might as well go ahead and say it, “I love tamales.” If I try a new Mexican restaurant, I always try the tamales first. I’m also quite the tamale snob. So, of course the first recipe I tried in How to Cook Everything Vegetarian was Naked Tamales with Chile Cheese Filling.

I don’t typically like to cook anything other than desserts, but it’s necessary. So, I cut up the onions, the Anaheim peppers, did all that. I cheated and bought already roasted and peeled red bell peppers though. But, if you are just getting accustomed to cooking more often with veggies, I think it’s acceptable to make things a little easier for yourself.

I probably can’t give you the recipe here since Mr. Bittman might get a bit upset with me. In case you’re wondering why the tamales are “naked,” it’s because you don’t have to use corn husks with this version. You bake them in the oven in ramekins, placed inside a baking dish with water. It’s like making creme brulee. No wonder I liked it.

What did I think of this dessert, ur, meal? Sorry. I’m still thinking of the baked cappuccino custard I wanted to make. I bought the espresso beans, but forgot the cream. The tamale pies were so wonderful. Masa, peppers, cheese — how can you go wrong? Not too much cheese though.

One really nifty thing about this cookbook is that it gives you lots of options. You don’t just get a recipe, you get a recipe with choices, depending on what flavors, etc. you are in the mood for. Also, Bittman refers you to other basic recipes within his book. For example, when I made the tamales, I could have also made my own sauce and my own veggie stock. He gave me the page numbers for those recipes.

I also tried the Blue Cheese Apples, but used cheddar and thyme instead of blue cheese and sage. See, these are the options I spoke of. And, you know, I did buy that cream and made the Baked Cappuccino Custard recipe. Oh, yum. Most desserts are already vegetarian, but he gives some good ones anyway. The custard photo didn’t turn out so well, but enjoy the tamale and apple photos.

If you missed them, check out Why Go Meatless More Often and Meatless Mondays. Also, check back on Saturday for Veggie Books for Kids.

Don’t forget to enter to win tickets to the First Eco Wedding & Lifestyle Show in Canada!

Please skip over to the sidebar and take the Meatless Meals Poll.

We’ll talk about the results in a few days.