Second-oldest eagle on record

A Bald Eagle hatched in 1978 recently was found dead near Two Harbors. It was 32 years and four months old. Age was determined by records made when the bird was banded as a chick near Minong, Wisconsin. This is the second oldest Bald Eagle on record. The eagle with the oldest known date was 32 years and 10 months old. The bird found at Two Harbors was banded by Duluth resident Dave Evans, head raptor bander at the Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory in Duluth. Banding records for the U.S. are kept at the U.S. Geological Survey's Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Maryland. That oldest eagle also died this year. Banded in Maine in 1977, it was found dead in New Brunswick, Canada in April. The Minnesota bird was found a roadside near a deer carcass. It apparently was hit by a motor vehicle. A spokesman at the center in Laurel said that 32 years is old but not that old. He said he wouldn't be surprised to see future records of 35 or 36 years. For the age to be known, a banded bird must be in hand, dead or alive.