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Bald Eagles Are Back. And They Want to Eat Your Pets.
Wall Street Journal ^ | May 14, 2021 | Jen Murphy

Posted on 05/17/2021 4:04:19 PM PDT by nickcarraway

America’s majestic emblem conjures feelings of awe. They also attack small dogs and scavenge a landfill.

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.

Dignity, my fellow American eagles. 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.

(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Outdoors; Pets/Animals
KEYWORDS: baldeagles; nature; pets
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To: Cecily

There are a couple of videos on youtube about that.


41 posted on 05/17/2021 4:47:46 PM PDT by Rebelbase
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To: Billthedrill

What is a teacup Pomeranian? Pic please.


42 posted on 05/17/2021 4:49:23 PM PDT by 353FMG
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To: familyop

Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird.


43 posted on 05/17/2021 4:53:29 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: 353FMG

I live on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. They’re everywhere here, a common sight.


44 posted on 05/17/2021 4:53:55 PM PDT by freepertoo
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To: familyop
and makes a far better dinner.

How would you know that? That means you've eaten Bald Eagle.

45 posted on 05/17/2021 4:54:09 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: familyop

Ben was right!


46 posted on 05/17/2021 4:55:17 PM PDT by Dr. Ursus
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To: Kipp

May sister in law lost a worthless, yapping, vicious little Yorkie to an owl. I applauded the owl.


47 posted on 05/17/2021 4:57:52 PM PDT by Fai Mao (It is time, past time and almost too late.)
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To: nickcarraway

I bought a Westie puppy for my wife a few years back. At the time, we lived on a wooded lot with several horned owls in the area. I was nervous every time I took him out at night. I’m sure he would look like a little light bulb to the owls.


48 posted on 05/17/2021 4:59:19 PM PDT by I-ambush (From the brightest star comes the blackest hole; you had so much to offer, did you offer your soul?)
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To: nickcarraway

We had a Bald Eagle SWOOP by our lanai 2 days ago THREE TIMES!! Maybe my husband looked like a tasty morsel!


49 posted on 05/17/2021 5:01:03 PM PDT by Ann Archy (Abortion....... The HUMAN Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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To: lepton
Earlier this year, a ravenous raptor stalked and killed a seagull There's a photo out there of a Bald Eagle killing a Great Blue Heron.
50 posted on 05/17/2021 5:02:24 PM PDT by Does so (The Media is the enemy of the people...Trial lawyers close behind...)
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To: rellic

There were so many bald eagles in the trees in Sitka where we were walking that I was way more concerned about them CRAPPING on me than anything else!


51 posted on 05/17/2021 5:02:52 PM PDT by Ann Archy (Abortion....... The HUMAN Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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To: 353FMG

Type teacup Pomeranian image into your browser. Lots of pics.


52 posted on 05/17/2021 5:15:06 PM PDT by upchuck (Corporations don’t pay taxes. They collect them. From us. ~ h/t Little Ray)
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To: stormer
domestic dogs kill far more than every other creature combined.

I have a difficult time believing that.

Cats are notorious killers of birds and other wildlife.

Of course, cats love to torture and play with their catch much more than dogs.

That may take some of the time they might devote to more killing...

53 posted on 05/17/2021 5:19:45 PM PDT by marktwain (President Trump and his supporters are the Resistance. His opponents are the Reactionaries. )
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To: stormer

Yeah. I live near the “National Eagle Center” in Wabasha, Minnesota. Eagles congregate along that stretch of the Mississippi River, especially in the winter because the river doesn’t freeze there.

I’ve seen six eagles perched in the same damned tree, with a couple dozen others in the vicinity.

I haven’t heard anyone complaining about lost pets, and eagles have been in this area in large numbers for decades now.


54 posted on 05/17/2021 5:20:41 PM PDT by NorthWoody (Half of all people are below average, and half of those are in the bottom 25%.)
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To: marktwain
Cats are notorious killers of birds and other stupid vermin


55 posted on 05/17/2021 5:28:56 PM PDT by Fightin Whitey
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To: nickcarraway

Never saw an eagle outside a zoo until I moved to Arizona. They’re mostly in the high country here, though you do see them in the desert along the rivers. They’re mostly fishers in my experience.


56 posted on 05/17/2021 5:38:18 PM PDT by fidelis (Defeatism and despair are like poison to men's souls. If you can't be positive, at least be quiet.)
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To: nickcarraway

In our area, we have had a dozen or more eagles flying in formation and attacking ground targets. At least it seems like a coordinate Air Force fleet. I have never seen so many eagles.


57 posted on 05/17/2021 5:42:51 PM PDT by CodeToad (Arm up! They Have!)
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To: 353FMG

He's comin' fer ya...

58 posted on 05/17/2021 5:46:33 PM PDT by Billthedrill
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To: freepertoo

My Mom is on the water between Easton and St. Michaels. She has several that frequent the property. Buzzards nest in her corn crib too.


59 posted on 05/17/2021 5:49:26 PM PDT by Tijeras_Slim
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To: nickcarraway

We’ve built a catio (cat enclosure) on our deck where our cats can freely come and go via a door with a tunnel. They love it. They use it during every season, including winter. I no longer worry about coyotes, hawks, owls, or eagles coming to grab them away from me.


60 posted on 05/17/2021 5:51:05 PM PDT by FamiliarFace
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