On Tuesday President Biden signed a bill that officially grants the bald eagle the title of national bird.
The majestic bird is one of America's most iconic symbols, and many people don't actually know that in almost 250 years since its founding, the U.S. has never had a national bird -- until now.
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WATCH HERE"Just like everybody else, I assumed it always had been and it wasn't until some gentleman researched it and found out that it had never been officially titled the bald eagle the national bird of the United States of America that Congress acted," said Lloyd Brown, the director and rehabilitator at the Wildlife Rescue of Dade County.
The bald eagle--in the United States---is a symbol of power and strength.
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In July, the Senate passed a bill to make the bald eagle the national bird and the House voted on it earlier this December with bipartisan support. On Tuesday, President Biden officially signed it into law.
Every official U.S. Document has a bald eagle stamped on it -- from the money that's in our pockets to postage stamps, uniforms and government buildings.
"Not only does it make sense, it doesn't make sense that it hasn't happened a long time ago," added Brown.
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Brown told NBC 6 that Florida is also home to many of them.
"We actually have more in Florida than any other state in the United States, except Alaska, and it's because they primarily fish so they are where there are easy access to waterways," he said.
Brown said organizations like his put in a lot of work to preserve and rehabilitate these animals back into the wild.
"In 2012, the population of bald eagles on the East Coast of the United States was down to I think 17,000 but in 2022, the population was up to almost 70,000," Brown added.
The Wildlife Rescue of Dade County monitors at least three nests in Miami-Dade and Brown said egg hatching season is right around the corner.
"South Florida birds hatch first, so these eggs were laid right around Thanksgiving and we're expecting the eggs to hatch around the first week of January," he said.
Watch the Wildlife Rescue of Dade County's live camera feed on an eagle's nest, here.
