1/21: Feeding eagles

via MSNBC week in pics.

A worker from Osterman Fish in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, walks out with a load of fish bits for a group of hungry eagles. Aleutian Island is about 800 miles southwest of Anchorage. You can only get there by plane or boat.

The photographer noted how big they are (look at the wingspan of the one, compared to the guy with the bin) and said you don't want to get to aggressive towards them; they are quite bold. If not given scraps, the eagles will walk right into the plant and grab food. So the plant decided it was a better idea just to give them scraps.

The American Bald Eagle has made a remarkable recovery over the last few years, and it will probably go off the endangered species list in the next few years. Starting from an estimated 500,000 birds in the early 1700s, their numbers declined to less than 10,000 nesting pairs by the 1950s and to less than 500 pairs by the early 1960s. The main cause: DDT. The pesticide caused the birds' eggshells to weaken during incubation.

But since the banning of DDT, and private and public conservation efforts, the bird has returned. There are now considered to be 20,000 birds in the continental US (with 6,000 nesting pairs), and over 35,000 birds in Alaska. A good 1,000 of whom must be fed by this plant!

So, all together now.... E! A! G! L! E! S! EAGLES!!!!!

I'd be scared shitless if I had to be the guy to carry the fish scraps out there. Sheesh.

Wingspan can get up to 6 feet. I saw one when I was about 10 on Prince Edward Island. They are <b>big</b>.

Re: 1/21: Feeding eagles

Re: 1/21: Feeding eagles

Quote:

Originally posted by dhamsaic Wingspan can get up to 6 feet. I saw one when I was about 10 on Prince Edward Island. They are <b>big</b>.

Look at those sky rats! Franklin was right we shoulda gone with the turkey. Actually, its pretty cool that they're back. They're nesting all along the mighty Susquehanna once again.

Steagle Super Bowl? GO STEELERS!

Time to break out the Jimmy Pol, nothing like the Super Steelers Fight Song. If you're not familiar with it, its polka music, hilarious.

Albatrosses are definitely pretty large. One has to wonder what the largest bird (wingspan & body-size) is these days. Is it the albatross? I doubt it. Hmmmm. Anyone got any idea?

This is a fantastic picture.

At first I was impacted by the fact that there they are... the EAGLE for gods' sake... begging!

Then I realized just how poetic the whole thing is. How wonderful that these beautiful birds are back -- back to claim their place in the world, to join in the survival stories of all nature.

I know the workers in the pic may not feel all too charitable towards them but I'm glad they're there -- they belong. They belong to the world, and the world to them.

OK so I'm not a poet. The picture is though.

Bald eagle frustrates wildlife officials

Football-loving eagle has swooped down and attacked New Hampshire beach-goers, wildlife officials can't catch capture

By Lori Ayotte
Associated Press — Aug. 22

HAMPTON BEACH, N.H. — A bald eagle that has been chasing after balls and annoying beachgoers since last week has eluded a flock of wildlife officials.

The eagle, which has a 6-foot wingspan and was released into the wild from a North Carolina wildlife reserve, has been menacing people since Friday, Aug. 17. On Sunday, it slightly injured a girl and two adults.

“ It' s not acting like an eagle, it's acting like a pigeon ”
— Eric Orff, wildlife biologist

On Tuesday, the eagle swooped down and clawed a 3-year-old girl on the back. Kayla Finn of Albany, N.Y., was running down the beach near two other children playing football. Her father brushed away the bird. She did not require medical attention.

"Other beaches have sharks, but at Hampton, we had to be different," said Peter MacKinnon, the town' s animal control officer. " We had to get an attack eagle."

Benjamin Franklin vs Eagles

As the debate raged on Benjamin Franklin wrote in a letter to his daughter:

"For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the representative of our country. He is a bird of bad moral character. He does not get his Living honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead tree near the river, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the labor of the Fishing Hawk; and when that diligent Bird has at length taken a fish, and is bearing it to his nest for the support of his mate and young ones, the Bald Eagle pursues him and takes it from him.

"With all this injustice, he is never in good case but like those among men who live by sharping & robbing he is generally poor and often very lousy. Besides he is a rank coward: The little King Bird not bigger than a Sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the district. He is therefore by no means a proper emblem for the brave and honest Cincinnati of America who have driven all the King birds from our country . . .

"I am on this account not displeased that the figure is not known as a Bald Eagle, but looks more like a Turkey. For the truth the Turkey is in comparison a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America . . . He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a bird of courage, and would not hesitate to attack a grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his farm yard with a red coat on."

*takes off clown wig to don flame-retardant suit*

I'd say that the US' recent (past ~10 years) actions actually show that this is a perfect bird from BF's comments. "OIL? Sure we'll protect the mideastern little guys!!"

On a side note (though I'm sure many people already know this), Franklin wanted to combine the letter "t" and the letter"h" to form a new letter when making a "th" sound. It was basically the letter "h" with the staff crossed.

...and why is the mideast all the way across the world when the midwest is in Iowa?