Hi Bill,
Thank you SO MUCH for this posting, even though the folks on this thread
weren't really commenting on the eagle's bad moral character. However,
many birders do still comment on cowbirds as if they are "bad".
I wrote an opinion piece about birders and cowbirds 17 (!) years ago that
was published in the Cornell magazine, "Living Bird". [Condon, Marlene.
1996. Cowbirds Aren’t Evil. Living Bird. Spring 1996. pp. 8-9.] My essay was
supported by an ornithologist in the same issue.
It's been very frustrating to me to see that so much time has passed
without a real change in the birding world's perception (generally speaking) of
cowbirds.
You've made my day!
Sincerely,
Marlene
Marlene A. Condon
Author/Photographer, The Nature-friendly Garden: Creating A Backyard Haven
for Plants, Wildlife, and People (Stackpole Books)
Naturalist and Writer/Photographer/Speaker
Crozet, VA 22932-2204
E-mail: MARLENECONDON@xxxxxxx
_www.MARLENECONDON.com_ (http://www.marlenecondon.com/)
In a message dated 3/22/2013 8:56:51 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
billbr50@xxxxxxx writes:
It's interesting that a lot of birders still attribute "bad moral
character" to birds that simply pursue effective natural strategies for
survival of
themselves and their species. The Brown-headed Cowbird is one such
oft-condemned species.
Bill Brown
Herndon
----- Original Message -----
From: Dixie Sommers<mailto:dixiesommers@xxxxxx>
To: 'Barbara Houston'<mailto:rinksyd@xxxxxxxxx> ; 'Bird
VA'<mailto:va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, March 21, 2013 8:19 PM
Subject: Re: [Va-bird] Dutch Gap
A perfect illustration of what Ben Franklin thought about the bald eagle -
you probably know this quote:
For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the
Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does
not get his Living honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead
Tree
near the River, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the Labour
of the Fishing Hawk; and when that diligent Bird has at length taken a
Fish,
and is bearing it to his Nest for the Support of his Mate and young Ones,
the Bald Eagle pursues him and takes it from him.
Of course "moral character" has nothing to do with it. But at least we know
old Ben was a good observer of bird behavior.
-----Original Message-----
From: va-bird [mailto:va-bird-bounces+dixiesommers=cs.com@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Barbara Houston
Sent: Thursday, March 21, 2013 6:59 PM
To: Bird VA
Subject: [Va-bird] Dutch Gap
I swung by Dutch Gap on the way home from work yesterday afternoon and
spent
almost two hours there enjoying the nice weather and lots of birds. The
usual suspects were there and had a few editions as well. I was sitting
down on the shoreline near the first platform shooting fly-bys when I
noticed the osprey on the tree across the marsh take off flying in my
direction. I looked again and saw why, a bald eagle coming towards him and
his fish. They flew toward the second platform area out of my sight line
and then I see the bale eagle coming towards me with the fish...and the
osprey hot on his tail. The osprey was hollering and had claws out toward
the eagle and the eagle kept looking behind him.
The osprey finally got too close and the eagle turned at the osprey, talons
up (even though they had a fish in them), and the osprey backed off. The
eagle turned and headed back towards the river and the osprey gave up and
went back to his tree without a fish. There is an osprey nest across from
the second platform way across the marsh and there is another further down
towards the river. I walked down to the point and watched several eagles
flying the winds over the river and then had another come right over my
head
while I stood there.
I headed out and as I passed the marshy area, I noticed some movement in
the
woods. I parked and walked along the edge of the road and had a good dozen
wood ducks in the standing water back in the wooded area.
A nice afternoon at Dutch Gap.
Pics start at:
http://fynefoto.phanfare.com/5970522#imageID=182433408<http://fynefoto.phanfare.com/5970522#imageID=182433408>
Barbara Houston
New Kent, VA
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