Birds of the Mid-Atlantic #15: Bald Eagle

Our national symbol evokes different reactions in different observers. A bald eagle in flight shows grace and power. On the ground, it appears more clumsy, much like other large raptors. Despite its powerful appearance and hunting prowess, in many cases eagles prefer to scavenge or bully smaller hawks such as osprey into giving up their prey. (These habits led Benjamin Franklin to describe it as "a bird of bad moral character.")

Adult Bald Eagle / Photo by Steve Hillebrand (USFWS)

Still, the bald eagle makes for an appropriate national symbol. Because of their large size and charisma, eagles command the attention even of non-birders. One of the most popular bird topics in the DC area this year has been the plight of the Wilson Bridge eagles, who lost their hatchlings because the mother was injured in a fight. (See my posts on the subject here, here, here, here, here, and here.) New York has its red-tailed hawks, but DC has its Beltway eagles.

Bald Eagles Per Party Hour on Christmas Bird Counts, 1950-2004

Bald eagles almost disappeared a half-century ago because of human pressures, primarily from the use of DDT. The latter pesticide weakens the eggs of birds so that few eggs hatch; it had a greater effect on raptors because toxins concentrate in higher amounts as they move up the food chain. Thanks to the banning of DDT and the preservation of habitat, the eagle population has recovered. Eagles are now quite common along large bodies of water in the mid-Atlantic region, especially in winter.

Immature Bald Eagle / Photo by Harrison (USFWS)

Young bald eagles are sometimes mistaken for golden eagles. The best way to tell the two species of eagles apart is by the amount of white. As you can see in the image above, the plumage of young bald eagles is flecked with white, all over the body and the wings. The amount of white differs depending on an individual's age; the key to note is that the white is widespread. Adult golden eagles will be completely brown, without any white. Young golden eagles will have distinct white patches near the tips of the wings and a distinct white band on the tail; other than those two features, the bird will be entirely brown. See the photograph below for an example of an adult golden eagle.

Golden Eagle / Photo by Illinois Raptor Center via Wikipedia

Another mistake that frequently occurs, not so much by birders as by entertainers, is the confusion of a red-tailed hawk's call with that of an eagle. Red-tailed hawks evoke feelings of wildness and fierceness when they scream. A bald eagle's high-pitched call sounds more harsh and whiny. It ill-befits such a majestic-looking bird. Watch for this in movies and television programs; red-tailed hawk calls are often attributed to almost any raptor, but especially to eagles.

Happy Fourth, everyone!

Cross-posted at A DC Birding Blog and Blue Ridge Gazette.

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Birds and Blogging

In anticipation of the first anniversary of I and the Bird, Mike has asked that we bird bloggers think and write about why we bird, why we blog, and why we blog about birds. This is an especially fitting time for me to reflect on this question, since my blog recently completed its first year in existence as well.

So why do I bird? In this blog's inaugural post, I told the story of when I started birding in earnest. For me, this meant the summer when I began to take walks and longer trips specifically to look for birds. It was sparked by the realization that the exotic-looking birds that I saw illustrated in field guides and other sources could be seen with just a little extra effort. In that first year of birding, I came to know many wonderful species - everything from waterfowl to warblers. As a result I was hooked, and I have been watching birds ever since.

For me, there are four things that make birding appealing. First, I have always loved the outdoors, and I would be trying to get out as much as possible with or without birds. Birding has made me more aware of my natural surroundings - not just birds, but also trees, wildflowers, and various insects. Second, birds are notable for their diversity, so there is always a new species or plumage variation to see. Third, there is a thrill that comes from looking for birds and nailing down identifications. Finally, individual birds are fun to watch. Even the ubiquitous house sparrows can be fun to observe over an extended period of time.

Having answered that question as best I could, why do I blog, and why do I blog about birding? I have always enjoyed writing, or at least I have enjoyed writing since the later stages of high school. In many ways I prefer writing to speaking. I do not think on the fly all that well, and in conversation my thoughts tend to come out in a jumble, sometimes with critical points or connections left unclear. But with writing I have time to get my thoughts in order and form them into something logical and persuasive. My comfort with writing turned into an interest in blogging as I became more aware of the world of blogs. I first learned of blogs via some baseball sites that I used to read; then in the 2004 election cycle I was introduced to political blogs, many of which I still read regularly. Blogging seemed like a natural fit for me. It is writing, which I enjoy, and I am free to write about whatever topic most interests me.

Eventually I chose birds as a topic for my nascent blog because it was a topic that held my interest. My experience with blogging (and writing in general, for that matter) has been that it is very important to choose a topic that will hold one's interest over the long term. The next most important thing is that it be a topic that one knows something about.

Now I could just as easily have started a blog or website on something related to work or school. But I did not want to do this for two reasons. One is that when people have gotten in trouble for blogging, it has tended to be because of blogging about work or school in too much detail. The second was my worry that blogging on academic issues could create future problems for me when it came to getting papers published. So I decided to turn towards a hobby instead. For me, that meant birding.

I did not choose to blog about birding solely because it was an available - and safe - topic. The idea for bird blogging grew out of my tendency to write up details of my birding walks for my own use, and to report sightings to the local birding listserve, MD Osprey. At the same time, I was keeping a birding journal in a word processing document on my computer. I wanted a way to record and discuss my observations in more detail without cluttering up the local listserves. A blog seemed to be the natural way to do this. (I must note that this idea did not originate with me, since I had been reading a few bird-related blogs before I started my own.)

Blogging has been an enjoyable and fruitful experience for me. I find that it has enriched my birding experiences since I now pay closer attention to bird behaviors for possible blogging topics. Starting the "Birds of the Mid-Atlantic" series has led me to learn more about the natural history of our native bird species. Even my link posts have been educational. Since I look actively for articles to blog, I have more exposure to recent research and trends. Finally, the existence of a community of bird-bloggers has been a source of encouragement and inspiration in my writing.

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Birds and the Rain

D'Vera Cohn investigated the effect of the recent downpours on wildlife, particularly birds.

Others had left their tree homes deliberately, as fledglings often do a few days before they are capable of flying. In good weather, some people mistakenly worry that the fledglings are stranded, though they are doing what they are supposed to do under their parents' watchful eyes. But the rain dealt them a bad hand, and many were out there alone and unprotected.

"They are pretty vulnerable to begin with, even in good weather," said Fairfax County wildlife biologist Earl Hodnett. "If a storm blows them out of the nest, they can't cope, or more commonly they get soaked and cannot maintain their body heat, so [they] succumb to that."

The rain was falling hard when blown-down baby birds began arriving at Second Chance Wildlife Center in Gaithersburg. Cedar waxwings, blue jays, bluebirds, sparrows and titmice were among the victims....

The other animals vulnerable to drowning or hypothermia are ground-dwelling birds such as wild turkeys.

Loose Feathers #53

News and links about birds, birding, and the environment.

• Earlier this spring about 2,000 terns nested on a barge on the shore of Long Beach, California. On Wednesday, about 300 baby terns were found dead from drowning and hypothermia in the waters off Long Beach. Investigators are checking the possibility of foul play. On Friday, another 100 washed ashore.
  
• North Carolina is opening a new birding trail along its coast. New Jersey recently completed birding trails along the Delaware Bay and the North Jersey Meadowlands as well.
• In Hawaii, dogs recently broke into the Na Aina Kai Tropical Botanical Gardens, a protected area for seabird nesting, and killed fifteen Laysan Albatrosses.
• NASA has been trapping vultures and scouring the local roads for carcasses in preparation for the upcoming launch of the space shuttle Discovery. A vulture collision during takeoff could damage the shuttle's protective foam. All vultures will be released once the shuttle is in orbit.
  
• Registration has begun for the 2006 Wings Over Water Festival. This festival celebrates waterfowl that winter on the North Carolina coast. This year's festival will be held from November 7-12.
  
• Darksyde explains the problem with Greenland's glaciers.
  
• Charlie and his girlfriend have a new blog.
• Visit the Friday Ark #93.
• Circus of the Spineless #10 is also available.
• Also, visit the very first Festival of the Trees. The next edition will be August 1.
  

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Rock Creek Still A Mess

People planning to visit Rock Creek Park (or drive through it), should probably focus on the western ridge rather than the valley. Rock Creek Parkway is still a mess.

"It was worse than Isabel, and that was significant damage for us," said Cynthia Cox, assistant superintendent of the 1,800-acre Rock Creek Park, referring to the 2003 hurricane. She said creek waters have not receded enough for officials to know the extent of the damage....

Cleanup has been an immense job. In the worst-hit area of Rock Creek Park, from Virginia Avenue NW nearly to Military Road NW, crews hauled 18 trees off the parkway. An 82-foot section of pavement was eroded on Beach Drive, and parts of the bicycle path were blocked. Picnic tables were dumped downstream. Flooding damaged Peirce Mill, the park's Nature Center and its police station....

North of Broad Branch Road, Beach Drive remains closed to drivers. There, rain-powered creek waters scoured away chunks of earth that supported the pavement. Near the police station, the road has a ragged edge, bordered by a trench cut by rainwater, with gravel and sand strewn about. Road crews planned to remove, shore up and replace 82 feet of the road's southbound lane. It could take several days.

The loss of trees is probably not that big of a problem for the habitats since new ones will grow to take their place. The damage will make it difficult to visit the lower sections of the park for a while. One interesting thing from the article was that the flood gave hikers and bikers a taste of what the park could be like without the busy thoroughfares through the valley. The floods do make one wonder about the wisdom of building the roads there in the first place.