Bald Eagles Decide That America May Not Be Dead Yet, Rock A Lil’ Love Nest At The Navy Yard
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (Reuters) — America’s national emblem is nesting in Philadelphia for the first time in more than 200 years but it may be on a collision course with developers.A pair of bald eagles, a species that has recovered from the brink of extinction in the last 40 years, has built a nest in a former Navy yard on the south side of Philadelphia
, the sixth-largest U.S. city and where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were written.“They have eggs in the nest and you can tell they are incubating by their behavior,” said Doug Gross, an endangered bird specialist for the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
Mostly, we’re wondering if they get the Urban Outfitters 40% discount.
CNN: “We Came Here Because The Rest Of America Was Utterly Revolting To Us”
March 27th, 2007 at 10:49 am
Bald eagles are so common in parts of Alaska as to be something of a pest–getting into trash, etc. They rarely take their own prey, as they are scavengers, and they often steal kills from other raptors. Nothing lofty or noble at all in their character. Franklin was right about selecting the wild turkey instead–a tongue-in-cheek emblem is always best (I’d have gone with the Luna Moth, personally. Gorgeous little things.)
I’ve been seeing bald eagles in South Jersey marshes for years now. Red Tailed Hawks and Kestrels are everywhere these days–have a couple wheeling over my house right now. Starting a fish pond in my yard is a non-starter–it would be empty in a week. Owls are still rare, but the frequency of their calls in the winter are increasing.
Philosophical Hall has in its collection a stuffed Bald Eagle taken around 1811 in the marshes of Great Egg Harbor (the bayside of Ocean City and Somers Point). Ospreys and Great Blue Herons remain a common sight there, but it is only a matter of time until a Bald Eagle is seen again.
If any calf-tatted Philadelphia mook so much as looks at those eggs the wrong way, I’m grabbing my whiskey, flag and musket, and I’m coming into town–and it won’t be pretty (well actually, it will–but you know what I mean). Orchids and eagles are worth a broken nose.
March 27th, 2007 at 11:04 am
I wish they’d hook up with the giant red cardinal that keeps smashing against my living room window and all go live in some kind of avian compoud together.
March 27th, 2007 at 11:23 am
So Lord Whimsy, do you cherish the eagles or disdain them? Or is it dandier to be contradictory?
March 27th, 2007 at 11:47 am
I don’t understand why they can’t put in the market and have the eagles there, too. People would love to see them, it would be a point of pride for the city to have these animals return, and the eagles would enjoy the fish scraps and other such things as much as any herring gull would. The developer makes his money, and eagle numbers get a leg up. They don’t need a pristine wilderness–just a little tolerance from us.
Many animal populations are on the rebound, despite encroachments into their native habitats, and new urban models are needed: the bears, skunks, opossums, wild cats, racoons and hawks are coming, kids–the days of Natural Deficiency Syndrome are numbered. The old 19th/20th-century mechanistic model is a relic of the past; we need a more sophisticated, organic model, one that dovetails with the natural process rather than keep it at bay. Greening rooftops would be a good start–it would also allow some purchase for returning animal populations. With rising human populations and greater encroachments into wild lands, we have little choice but to learn how to minimize our footprint. Cities would be less brutal places to live as a result–quieter, fresher air, cooloer temperatures, less bleak surroundings. The technology is coming, if not already here; what is required is the political will and a few responsible, savvy entrepreneurs.
For those who want to get started, you can learn how to make seed grenades: http://www.lizchristygarden.org/lcbh_files/seed_bomb.html
Then organize guerilla gardening patrols: http://www.guerrillagardening.org/
Just saying.
March 27th, 2007 at 1:55 pm
dude - lord whimsy is totally freaking out, right now.