Moar Bird Slide:
The bald eagle population has made a remarkable comeback. But the majestic symbol of American pride is turning out to be a nuisance, especially in Canada.
Flocks have been spotted along highways in the Pacific Northwest, feasting in a landfill in Vancouver. Earlier this year, a ravenous raptor stalked and killed a seagull in front of shocked onlookers at a busy Vancouver golf course.
With an 8-foot wingspan and a distinctive snowy-white head, America’s national emblem conjures feelings of patriotism and reverence.
“You’re in awe every time you see one,” says Jeanine Pesce, who recently moved from New Jersey to British Columbia and now sees the raptors almost daily. “Their physicality and presence is so profound you feel a need to pay homage to them.”
But Ms. Pesce, who owns a consulting agency, has had to explain some National Geographic-worthy encounters to her 5-year-old daughter. “One day I watched an eagle drag a Canadian goose back and forth across rocks for hours,” she says. “I was told that’s how they tenderize their meat.”
It wasn’t long ago that birdwatchers considered the odds of a bald eagle sighting just this side of a unicorn sighting. Through conservation efforts and the banning of chemicals like DDT, the population recovered to numbers that warranted the bird’s removal from the endangered species list in 2007. A recent report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department found that numbers have quadrupled to more than 316,000 in 2019, from 72,000 in 2009.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/bald-eagle-population-endangered-pets-vancouver-11621012685
So glad we didn’t pick the turkey for our National Bird!
> bald eagles
I was walking Ollie the Wonder Dog a few weeks back down our road. There’s a very large pond about a mile down our road. No sooner did I get there when a bald eagle flew into a branch behind this guys house. We stopped and stared it for a while. First time I’ve seen one here.
It should be noted that the difference between a lake and a pond is not the circumfrence but the depth.
-SB