Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-08-15
THE BALD EAGLE.
He Is a Noble Looking Bird But Has
Bad Habits.

He Is a Noble Looking Bird But Has
Bad Habits.
The great American bald eagle is an
illustration Of the truth that fine
Feathers do not make fine birds. For.
sad to relate, the original Of our ma
riona' emblem Is a scavenger, a coward
and a thief Fish Is his principal diet,
and as he can catch them only under
the most favorable circumstances he
picks up those that have been washed
ashore or he robs his feathered neigh
bors. His lack Of courage Is seen
when one attempts to molest his nest.
Almost as soon as the intruder begins
| to ascend the tree or cliff the male
eagle sails off into space. leaving his
wife to protect her offspring. Even
she does not show as much bravery
as the average small bird.
Although the bald eagle will cap
ture and eat poultry. game birds, small
mammals and the young Of sheep and
goats, he will live on fish entirely
|
Taking a place in dead tree trunk
high above the water, the eagle
watches the valley until he sees a
fish hawk or osprey capture a fish.
Then. waiting until 1t has mounted In
the air, he sallies forth. He Is a
strong fiier, and the fish hawk. bur-
dened by its load, Is soon overtaken.
Then begins a battle in midair. Bat
tie though 1t may seem to be, the
real object of the eagle Is merely to
frighten the fish hawk so that 1t will
drop its prey, which It quickly does.
realizing that In order to protect It
self 1t must have the free use Of Its
claws. The instant the fish Is released
the robber scoops down and catches
It In midair, then bears It off to his
perch.
| Speaking generally the bald eagle Is
found over the entire northern hemis-
phere. 1t is very common In Florida
and the adjacent large islands, but 1t
is most abundant along the coast and
about the mouths Of the rivers Of
southern Alaska Attracted in the
summer by the salmon that swarm
lfrom the ocean into shallow fresh wa
ter streams, the eagles gather In great
numbers and fish, snatching fish from
the water as they founder over the
shallow rifles.
| 1t Is not unusual to see twenty-five
or fifty eagles perched on the rocks
or tree trunks about the mouth Of one
Of these Alaska streams, and as they
are seldom shot by hunters they be-
come very tame, permitting one to
approach within fifty or hundred
feet of them. On the way from June.-i
to Admiralty Island, while entering
a narrow pass between two Islands,
Ii counted thirty-four eagles at one
time. One noticeable thing was that
there were few immature birds among
them, nearly all having the white head
and tail, which do not appear until
after the birds are three years old.
Raising blue foxes is one Of the In
dustries in the parts of Alaska where
eagles are common, and here they are
Injurious to man. The foxes are bred
on islands situated so far from the
mainland that there is TO chance OF
their escaping. During the spring,
when the young foxes are about one
third or half grown, the eagles cap
lture many of them so many, In fact
that the fox raising companies offer
bounty of fifty cents for the head of
every eagle killed in that vicinity.
Now and then the eagle will attempt
to rob the human hunter Of his prey.
Many a man has had wounded and
dead water fowl snatched from be-
meath his very eyes during the few
minutes he had left his gun In the
blind while he went out in the boat
to gather up his game.
One fall while hunting golden eye
ducks on the Susquehanna River at
Owego, N. Y, I had an experience OF
this kind After long, arduous stalk,
III arrived within shooting distance Of
the game, killed one duck and wounded
another These ducks are very expert
divers and when wounded will take
shelter beneath the water, diving re-
peatedly and putting only the tip or
the bill out Of the water. When there
is a slight ripple on the surface this
ruse Is usually successful, for the
duck will work further and further
laway from the hunter.
In open water a wounded duck man.
aged to elude me, and after an hours
search l gave up the chase and con-
tinued on down stream. I had gone
labout a quarter Of a mile when / saw
an eagle flying up the river high In
the air. Eagles are rare In this To-
callty, so this one was watched closely.
AS he sailed over the spot where the
wounded duck should be he began to
circle. With each revolution he came
nearer and nearer the surface until he
was only fifty feet above the water.
Then he darted down and almost dip
ped into the water before turning and
rising. Mounting in the air, he con-
tinued to circle over the spot and then
dived again. instantly came to the
conclusion that the eagle was after the
duck, so l hurried back over the Ice
and soon reached the spot where l
could watch the proceedings.
Each time the ducks head appeared
the eagle swooped at 1t. and as he
came near the duck dived, whereupon
the eagle would rise quickly, circle
over the spot until his prey again ap-
peared He gave the duck no time to
rest, but attacked It instantly. Its
periods beneath the water became
shorter and shorter. Undoubtedly the
eagle would have been successful had
not made my presence known by
walking out on the ice, whereupon he
took fright and made off.
OF the two birds, the golden eagle
rather than the bald eagle should have
been chosen as the emblem Of the Unit
ed States. BY far the larger and more
noble bird in appearance. 1t Is less Of
a scavenger than the bald eagle.
| Reinp rather rare east of the Rocky