Gosh. Started reading the headline and thought: oh no, another NFT?
Then I read the rest of the title. :) :)
America’s bald eagle population continues to soar
141–150 of 246 posts
Re: America’s bald eagle population continues to soar
#142This remind me of a PlanetMoney episode from a while ago > https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2017/02/03/513302816/epis... > Over time, though, Harris's worldview changed. He started to see the downside to the industrial farming ... To replace the chemical fertilizer, he brought in chickens and let them roam free. Free-range chickens would fertilize the grass; the grass would nurture the cattle, and shoppers at Whole…
Which is why you have dogs to protect your livestock. I think people forget that man's best friend became that way by doing jobs for us. Want your cattle and chickens protected from wolves, fox, eagles, etc? Train some dogs to protect them.
I have guinea hens for pest mitigation and when the coyotes and/or hawks have picked off enough I just buy more. I pay about $2 each, it’s not worth getting a trained dog to watch over them, especially since coyotes and raptors do me a huge solid by keeping the cottontail population in check
Re: America’s bald eagle population continues to soar
#143As superpower mascots go, I think the eagle turned out to be pretty much perfect. Large, powerful, masters of their environment, noble from a distance. Up close, easily scared, shameless scavengers who love the opportunity to steal prey from other creatures. Note: No intention of starting a political conversation, as a resident of said superpower I just love the irony.
I've seen one in the wild. Actually a beautiful animal.
Re: America’s bald eagle population continues to soar
#144Man, I really want to see one some day! Made me think of this story telling of an eagle allegedly swooping down and snatching a toddler right from the ground on the island Leka in Norway. She was apparently playing in a blanket, so the talons didn't scratch her, but she was carried almost two kilometres away. The ordeal triggered a search party that eventually found her almost 200 metres up the mountain side, unschat…
I wish the Haast eagle was still around. They were just massive and hunted Moa. They were likely hunted by humans. I guess I should be careful what I wish for. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haast%27s_eagle
I think it's more that all the big birds the eagles hunted were hunted by humans. It wasn't just moa, the other big birds are gone too. E.g. search for New Zealand here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_gigantism
Re: America’s bald eagle population continues to soar
#145Relatedly, peregrine falcons were removed from the endangered species list in 1999 after decades of conservation efforts. Since 2002 there's been a persistent falcon nest up on the 40th floor of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning, here's a live feed (looks like the mother just laid her third egg two days ago and the falcons have begun incubating): https://www.aviary.org/birds-habitats/live-streams/ EDIT: Aaaand yep,…
Less relatedly than they might seem though. Falcons are more closely related to parrots than to eagles.
Re: America’s bald eagle population continues to soar
#146The other day, I saw an eagle hunting over my neighborhood pond. Frankly, I was shocked to see it. Definitely appreciate the wildlife returning.
Re: America’s bald eagle population continues to soar
#147I find it amusing the article had to clarify the lower 48 states. In the majority of the United States bald eagles are a rare and majestic sight. In Alaska they are on par with seagulls.
Tangentially, why do Americans call their middle 48 states the "lower 48"? Alaska is north of them and Hawaii is south of them. Does "lower" mean "east" somehow? If lower meant south as on a map, the actual lower 48 would be everything except Alaska and Minnesota.
My first thought was that the term could’ve predated Hawaii becoming a state, which only happened in 1959. But that seems to be false; the term only started getting popular around 1967: https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Lower+48&year_...
Re: America’s bald eagle population continues to soar
#148I find it amusing the article had to clarify the lower 48 states. In the majority of the United States bald eagles are a rare and majestic sight. In Alaska they are on par with seagulls.
Tangentially, why do Americans call their middle 48 states the "lower 48"? Alaska is north of them and Hawaii is south of them. Does "lower" mean "east" somehow? If lower meant south as on a map, the actual lower 48 would be everything except Alaska and Minnesota.
Just wait till you learn of Down East.
Re: America’s bald eagle population continues to soar
#149I find it amusing the article had to clarify the lower 48 states. In the majority of the United States bald eagles are a rare and majestic sight. In Alaska they are on par with seagulls.
Tangentially, why do Americans call their middle 48 states the "lower 48"? Alaska is north of them and Hawaii is south of them. Does "lower" mean "east" somehow? If lower meant south as on a map, the actual lower 48 would be everything except Alaska and Minnesota.
"Lower 48" is a term from Alaska, and predates Hawaii's statehood. ie, an updated version would be "Lower 49".
Re: America’s bald eagle population continues to soar
#150Does remembering this: https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/06/09/Americas-bald-eagle-... make me old?