posted
That is an awesome picture!! Geez, isn't that the entire population of the species right there in that tree?
Posts: 6415 | Registered: Jul 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
An interesting tidbit: To the native americans (well, to the Salish and Blackfeet, at least), the golden eagle is the majestic one - bald eagles are viewed as dirty scavengers.
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
| IP: Logged |
quote: An interesting tidbit: To the native americans (well, to the Salish and Blackfeet, at least), the golden eagle is the majestic one - bald eagles are viewed as dirty scavengers.
Ben Franklin used the same argument when he said the national icon should be the Turkey and not the Bald Eagle.
Still, amazing photo. Only place I ever see eagles is at the Detroit Zoo (ironically located in my nice little suburb, and not Detroit).
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
I love seeing bald eagles. I often see them in the summer when I'm on the road between towns. They're a fairly common sight here. (Well, as "common" as bald eagles can be, anyway. Which isn't saying much.)
Posts: 1814 | Registered: Jul 2004
| IP: Logged |
There were bald eagles that used to nest in a particular area in the woods, right near the edge of a lake, a couple miles from my house when I was growing up. I used to enjoy hiking over there and watching them.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
My Mom just informed me that the reason the eagles hang out here in such large numbers this time of year is because it's calving season and they like to eat the afterbirths!
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
Where's this enigmatic 'here' where everyone is seeing bald eagles? Somewhere near Bozeman, I suppose, though I'm afriad I don't know where that is either.
The last eagle I saw was in a small public zoo in Kansas (I don't know if it was bald or golden -- can't they be both? ). I also got to hear the very sad story of the time when some nut case carried a shotgun into that same zoo some years ago and shot the eagle they had at the time. Heartbreaking.
Posts: 270 | Registered: Jul 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
Last year, while hiking down the Grand Canyon to Havasupai, a Bald Eagle swooped down, not two feet above my head. It was awesome, as was that entire trip.
Posts: 2292 | Registered: Aug 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Wow. No wonder. I've always wanted to see Alaska. My best friend in Jr. High and I had our future Alaska house plan all laid out and everything: Basically just a large library with two small wings -- one for me and my wife and kids and the other for his solitary self (he wasn't yet interested in girls).
Posts: 270 | Registered: Jul 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
Actually, I'm not in Bozeman anymore - I'm home living with the family which means the Beautiful Bitterroot Valley. (South of Missoula)
If you look at a map of Montana, the western edge looks kind of like the profile of an old man. The nose of that old man is my county.
This reminds me of the time I was flying home from visiting my grandma in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The girl behind us in line overheard our conversation about my airport schedule and asked, "Where is Missoula?" I answered, "Western Montana." She looked shocked and said "Oh. It sounded like it was another country. Like in Africa or something."
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
Marvellous picture, thanks for sharing us with your experience!
I've only seen corpse-eating vultures in the desert a few weeks ago, never a whole flock (what an insulting name for such a noble bird) of Bald Eagles.
At least vultures are friendly ("We're your friends to the bitter end"...). I doubt any cocky Bald Eagle would say something that nice (maybe something like: "We're your friends until you stop paying "life insurance" ")
I wonder if the one I saw in the zoo in Emporia was one of the ones you had seen flying wild and free. <sardonic half-grin>
Posts: 270 | Registered: Jul 2004
| IP: Logged |