Tag: bald eagle

The Domination Game: The American Eagle and the Canada Jay

Posted on by David Greer

by David Greer

Bald eagle. Myles Clarke photo.

Countries love their symbols. But what do those symbols tell us?

One of President Biden’s final actions before handing over the keys to the White House was to sign into law a unanimous bipartisan bill, perhaps one of the last of those for a good long time, declaring the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) the national bird of the United States of America.

Cue media yawn. December 2024 was too replete with Trumpian outrage (for and against) to notice. Besides, hadn’t the eagle as national symbol been settled a couple of hundred years ago?

Actually, more like 250 years ago, when the Continental Congress, having loosed the chains of empire, decided in 1782 to insert the image of a bald eagle on the Great Seal of the United States. On it, the eagle clutches an olive branch in one talon, a sheaf of arrows in the other – prepared for peace or war as circumstances require. The bald eagle must have seemed an obvious pick as a national symbol, the epitome of strength and independence and native to every state in the union. Generations of Americans grew up assuming the bald eagle was their national bird, but that status didn’t become official until the 2024 bill, introduced by Amy Kobuchar, sailed through both the Senate and House and landed on the president’s desk. Read more »

Monday, March 13, 2023

The First Sure Sign of Salish Sea Spring—Eagles or Hummingbirds?

Posted on by David Greer

by David Greer

Bald eagle feeding fledgling in its nest high in a Douglas-fir on Pender Island, British Columbia. E. Myles Clarke photo.

On the islands of the Salish Sea, spring is often interrupted by the final roars of winter’s lion. Firs and cedars that usually withstand storm winds from the west or south may break when a rare mass of Arctic air brings with it a mean gale from the north.

In a rural community, branches falling on wires can trigger power outages lasting hours or days. When that happens, the ancient woodstove takes over from the idled electric heat pump, while oil lamps brought out of the closet cast a warm and flickering light on the novel that has been waiting for just such an occasion. Sure, your iPhone may still have some juice left, but you’ve no idea whether the lights will be out for hours or days. What better excuse to bury yourself in a good book under a cozy woolen Hudson’s Bay blanket?

No power also means no water from the pump-driven dug well, but fortunately you had the presence of mind not to tear down the old outhouse from the cabin’s earliest days when indoor plumbing was a luxury enjoyed by few on these remote islands. As long as you remember to gently relocate any yellowjacket queens wintering under the toilet seat, there’s a certain pleasure to sitting in a privy overlooking the rainforest in the gloaming, the more so if you remembered to replace the empty toilet paper roll after the last power outage. On really stormy nights, you might even hear the waves crashing on the distant beach. Read more »