But one of the top ten oldest birds ever recorded has sadly met an unfortunate fate - electrocution on a telegraph pole.
The Kodiak Island bald eagle died in Alaska after hitting a utility pole's crossbar last month.
The mature wild bird's discovery has provoked much interest among raptor biologists, after a band on its leg revealed it is the second-oldest bald eagle documented in Alaska.
Biologists have no other way of confirming mature wild eagle ages other than on recovered bands.
'Based on the bird-banding record that I've seen, it would be one of the top ten oldest birds ever recorded,' Kodiak Island wildlife biologist Robin Corcoran said.
'Once they reach that full adult stage - white head, brown body, white tail - you don't have any idea how old they are,' Steve Lewis, of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Alaska, said.
'Banding is one of these things - you put a lot of effort into it and you get little return, but the returns you get are really interesting.'
The bird was captured in 1989 during a research project into possible health damage from the Exxon Valdez oil spill that happened earlier in the year.
'It was a beautiful older female,' Mr Corcoran said.
'The power pole near a cannery had been fitted with two devices designed to protect eagles but it perched on the lowest of three crossbars where utility authorities did not believe there was enough room to alight.'
Alaska's oldest recorded eagle was a 28-year-old from the Chilkat Valley outside Haines, although a dead eagle believed to be aged 29 was found late last year on Adak Island in the Aleutians.
Experts say most eagles don't approach three decades.
Hundreds of America's national birds from mainland Alaska gather in Kodiak city each winter when lakes and streams freeze up.
The opportunistic eaters grab fish and small mammals, but also dive or feast on other food from humans and look through bin bags in pick-up trucks. Bait can be an attraction too.
'Yesterday there was some bait left unattended on the back deck of a boat and that caused a frenzy,' Mr Corcoran added.
'The birds ended up getting soiled and fighting over it, and then they fall into the water.'
Biologists have retrieved starved eagles and those killed by aeroplanes, cars or leg-hold traps intended to catch foxes
I believe many, many people will agree with this comment.
Not just from the suggested electrical connection, but also from all the retrograde activities of the US.
In particular, its blatant disregard for the well-being of its own population.