Example Timeline: The Bald Eagle

Let’s work through an example timeline to understand how it can be used to support effective arguments about how and why things happened. This particular timeline is about the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), the national bird of the United States. Throughout this example, you will see tips on what to consider when you create your own biodiversity timeline.

As you go through this bald eagle example, think about how the entries in the timeline serve as evidence of, and give you insights into, changes in the population of the species.

If you haven’t seen a bald eagle in nature, like the one in the picture from Lake Mead in Nevada, you have definitely seen one on the back of a US quarter. Bald eagles are an important symbol of our country and relatively easy to see in person today in certain places, but it wasn’t always that way. In fact, they are an example of a species that has recovered from near extinction.

Get to know the bald eagle in this short video of young fledglings mastering the art of hunting along the Upper Mississippi River.