Bald Eagle - Our National Symbol

Linthicum I'm so glad so many of the eagles you're photographying are banded. I think it means that no matter what the development plans in the area it's well documented as eagle habitat. That's just my thoughts because we're having trouble with wetlands here.

It's definitely eagle habitat. They feast on the shad that live in the waters below the dam. I found it interesting that the dam has two elevator lifts that lift the shad to the waters above the dam so that they may continue their migratory journey north. Adult shad migrate each Spring from the ocean to the fresh waters upstream where they spawn. An average adult female shad produces 300,000 eggs.

Here is another photo of three eagles fighting over a fish just caught by one of them .......

Another sequence photo ............ it's very easy to do when the colors in the sky remain constant .....

That is one of the most incredible photos ever, Linth! Yes, eagles surely do show up best against a beautiful blue sky, but as always your photography skills are what has really done the trick.

Thanks, Murmur.

As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, my thoughts, for a moment, turned to the historical background pertaining to the selection of the Bald Eagle as our national symbol. Had Ben Franklin had his way, it would have been the Wild Turkey. He characterized the Bald Eagle as, " a bird of bad moral character; he does not get his living honestly. You may have seen him perched in some dead tree where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the labor of the fishing hawk (Osprey) and, when that diligent bird has at length taken a fish and is bearing it to his nest for his young ones, the bald eagle pursues him and takes the fish. With all this injustice, he is never in good case." On the other hand, he saw the turkey as "a much more respectable bird and a true native of America." He conceded that the turkey was "a little vain and silly," but maintained that it was nevertheless a "bird of courage" that "would not hesitate to attack a grenadier of the British guards who should presume to invade his farm yard with a red coat on." Congress was not convinced, however, and the eagle remained our national symbol. Thank goodness ......

If the turkey had become our national symbol, would we still eat it on Thanksgiving Day ? It just wouldn't seem right to EAT our "National Symbol" on Thanksgiving Day, now, would it ?

Good ole' Ben Franklin must have gotten one too many shocks from his kite experiment !!!

This message was edited Nov 14, 2008 3:21 PM

That is hysterical. Besides isn't the turkey the national bird of Turkey?? I don't think you can have the same national bird as another country. or maybe you can. Who would stop you?

This message was edited Nov 14, 2008 1:25 PM

Well Resin that's just funky weird IMHO. It's a natural fit.

In Turkey, Turkeys are called "Hindi": http://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culuh ;-)

I just found out that Turkey doesn't have a national bird. How very sad. They do, however, have a national flower: the tulip. ( I wonder if the Dutch know about this :O)