{"id":964,"date":"2022-02-11T15:35:19","date_gmt":"2022-02-12T00:35:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rightasrainonline.com\/?p=964"},"modified":"2022-02-13T09:52:46","modified_gmt":"2022-02-13T18:52:46","slug":"eagle-tree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rightasrainonline.com\/?p=964","title":{"rendered":"Eagle tree"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When my kids were small, our nearest neighbors were a family of bald eagles. Every spring, the mister and missus would meet up at the tree and raise at least one chick. It was likely the same pair, but there could have been a swap out if one of them died. Eagles, I have been told, imprint on a given location, not on each other, so if, say, a lonely widower were spied by an eligible young lady, then life at the family tree would continue without a hitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway, the new chick would by the end of the summer be sporting its odd juvenile plumage and making short flights on wings adorned with extra-long feathers (think training wheels), while the parents looked on fondly. We looked forward to their seasonal times as our neighbors, tried to get a glimpse of their huge nest through the branches, and wished them well. This was at a time before eagles made their comeback nationwide, when Southeast Alaska was very nearly their last stronghold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bald eagles are hardy creatures, perhaps not nearly as genteel and noble as some would like to imagine them. They are scavengers first, bullies and thieves second, and hunters third. In case you hadn\u2019t noticed, that\u2019s in order from easiest to hardest. Ben Franklin, of course, thought eagles were jerks, and wanted the wild turkey as our national emblem, but that\u2019s a digression for another day. They are enormous, powerful, with six-foot-or-more wing spans (despite usually weighing less than 15 pounds). They can lift only about half their body weight, so they might take your teacup poodle, but they won\u2019t get your kids or your border collie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having chosen Southeast Alaska as my forever home, I tend to be a bit proprietary about bald eagles. Thus, I was very seriously annoyed when The Proposal,<\/em> starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, tried to pass off an Australian wedge-tailed eagle (whom I am sure is a noble beast in its own right) as a bald eagle:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Seriously? Here\u2019s the real McCoy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

See what I mean?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regarding my erstwhile eagle neighbors, Progress happened, and the eagles have long since moved on and been replaced by a four-plex designed for human habitation. The other day, out walking with my friend Karen, I saw this in another, nearby, location:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

These avian neighbors of mine have survived a 40-year bounty on trumped-up charges, DDT, and steady habitat loss. I\u2019m glad that they are still close by, even if not right next door. Oh, and eat your heart out, Sandy and Ryan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

********************************************************************<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For your further edification: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Proposal (2009) – Goofs – IMDb<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bald Eagle Species Profile, Alaska Department of Fish and Game<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo sources:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wedge-tailed+Eagle+05161700125+Tanami+Rd.JPG (1246\u00d71600) (bp.blogspot.com)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

bald-eagle-1075023_1920.jpg (1920\u00d71530) (immortal.org)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When my kids were small, our nearest neighbors were a family of bald eagles. Every spring, the mister and missus would meet up at the tree and raise at least one chick. It was likely the same pair, but there could have been a swap out if one of them died. Eagles, I have been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[383],"tags":[419],"class_list":["post-964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pets-and-other-wild-animals","tag-bald-eagles"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rightasrainonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rightasrainonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rightasrainonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rightasrainonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rightasrainonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=964"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/rightasrainonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/964\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":972,"href":"https:\/\/rightasrainonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/964\/revisions\/972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rightasrainonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rightasrainonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rightasrainonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}