Bald Eagle

Generally, people are more interested in Bald Eagles as symbols rather than living things (including new president Donald Trump). Many trophy hunters in the mid-1900s had this point of view, and hunted eagles mercilessly. At the same time, the infamous pesticide DDT, biomagnified in top predators, caused eagle and hawk eggshells to be so thin that they wouldn’t survive to hatch. In 1978, Bald Eagles were put on the Endangered Species List, and conservation efforts began in earnest. Eagle-hunting and DDT were banned. The conservation of Bald Eagles has been a great success story, and their populations have now increased well past the point of endangerment.

 The term “predator” is applied somewhat loosely where Bald Eagles are concerned. They’ll scavenge for dead animals, steal food from other hawks and eagles, and hunt fish or smaller birds as a last resort. They make their nests in trees near water, and in Metro Vancouver competition has become so fierce for nesting spots that pairs have to stake them out for weeks in advance. Eagles have intelligence, personality, and ecological relevance — they are much more than symbols of human greed for power.

I saw this bird at Boundary Bay and 72nd Street on January 26.