• The bald eagle's scientific name is Haliaeetus leucophalus, which means "white-headed sea eagle."

• Adult bald eagle females usually are 30 percent larger than the males weighing up to 14 pounds and growing up to 3 1/2 feet long with up to an 8 foot wingspan, while males can weigh up to 10 pounds and grow up to 3 feet long with up to a 6 1/2 foot wingspan.

• Bald eagles reach adult size when they are about 12 weeks old, but don't attain their signature white head and tail feathers until they are four or five years old.

• During normal flight, bald eagles can average 30 to 40 miles per hour. When diving, they can reach speeds up to 100 miles per hour.

• In the wild, the bald eagles average life span is 20 years. In captivity, they can live 30 to 50 years.

• To protect winter bald eagles at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has established the Bald Eagle Management Area (BEMA). BEMA is approximately 7,000 acres of land on the Arsenal with restricted human access during the eagle's roost at the Arsenal.

• Although the bald eagle is considered a "threatened" species, under the Endangered Species Act, bald eagles are given the same amount of protection as those that are endangered.

• An Army contractor first discovered bald eagles at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal in 1986 when he noticed a winter roost site in a cottonwood grove near First Creek.

• The Rocky Mountain Arsenal serves as an important winter destination for bald eagles as the site provides an abundance of food sources and is relatively undisturbed by human activity.

• Typically more than 100 bald eagles use the Arsenal from November to March each year.