A Bald Eagle in my own suburban yard in the middle of a big city – yesterday it happened once again! But my delight was tempered by something ominous.
As I opened my garage door to leave for the camera shop to pick up a new lens that was being calibrated this adult Bald Eagle was calmly staring down at me from the elm tree in my side yard. It happened once before a few weeks ago and this may or may not be the same bird. I really cannot describe the joy it gives me to see such a sight in my own yard. I quickly grabbed my other camera and fired off a few shots of the bird before I had to leave to pick up my gear. As you can see it was snowing and foggy so conditions weren’t ideal.
But all is not well in this image. There’s fishing line hanging down below the eagle with a dead bird dangling from it – something I didn’t notice at the time.
When I returned from the camera shop the eagle was gone.
But thankfully, very thankfully, the fishing line and dead bird remained behind. Because of the white bill and very dark plumage I wonder if it might be the remains of a coot.
I’m not sure what really happened here. Most likely the eagle landed in the tree with the fishing line and dead bird trailing behind and then when it took off the line snagged in the tree. If that’s the case it’s an extremely fortunate outcome for the eagle. I can only imagine the pitiful scene if the fishing line had remained entangled in both the tree and the eagle when it took off. It’s also possible that the line was already in the tree when the eagle landed but I have serious doubts about that.
There’s a suburban fishing pond about a quarter-mile below my home and the Jordan River runs nearby. I suspect the eagle is drawn to the neighborhood by the fishing opportunities and likes to perch in my tree because it’s the biggest, tallest tree around. I’ll make an attempt to retrieve the fishing line from my tree but I have doubts it can be done without seriously endangering life and limb. It truly is a huge tree.
With 40 of our Utah Bald Eagles recently confirmed dead from West Nile Virus I’m particularly concerned for their welfare right now (even though there’s apparently some skepticism in the scientific community that WNV is the actual culprit).
I despise monofilament fishing line!
Ron
I join you in rejoicing that the outcome was good for this eagle, but I also am distressed by the tangled fishing line. Looks like that might possibly have been the cause of the coot’s demise? If nothing else it would have set the coot up to be prey for the eagle.
I once rescued a bat that had grabbed a fishing lure and was hanging from the line that stuck in a tree.
Just goes to show that birds aren’t the only victims of discarded fishing line. Thanks, Rick.
When I head out in the Spring, I plan to make a pair of small wire cutters and a sharps box (for hooks) part of my photography equipment.
Should easily fit in a small pocket.
Perhaps you could suggest this for every wildlife photographer?
great idea! I’m going to keep same in car…
I make small, half-pan watercolor boxes out of -Altoid boxes.(with double faced tape, they hold 15 half pans….sprayed with white enamel paint, lid is good for mixing)…could be used for hooks, other small sharps…
You could easily fit a large, strong nail clipper or jeweler’s snips in an Altoid box…I put the Altoids in a ziplock and give them away…
Good idea, Bruce – especially for those of us who often shoot near water (which is perhaps most of us).
Ron: Any chance you can read any of the numbers on that metal band on the Eagles right tarsus? If so, it would be worth reporting to the Bird Banding Lab (https://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/BBL/bblretrv/) as that can be used as valuable scientific information! You might even be able to find out more information about the bird, such as how old it is, where it was banded, etc..
Neil, No, I can’t read any numbers on the band, even highly cropped and processed. If I’d had my 500mm with me I probably could have but it was in the camera shop.
One grandly beautiful, the other nightmarish…in all it’s implications…a lesson driven home….
Agreed, Patty.
Amazing picture… What a beauty to have in your very own tree! It must know that you like to photograph… Fishing lines, dragnets are horrible, nasty things; I read this yesterday: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/01/07/260555381/thousands-of-whales-dolphins-killed-to-satisfy-our-seafood-appetite
Thanks, Nicole.
Regarding your link – referring to the death of 650,000 mammals to the fishing industry annually as “collateral damage” seems misleadingly benign for such a staggering loss. That phrase, especially when used to describe civilian deaths in war, has always bothered me…
WHAT a morning you had. I can only imagine your delight in seeing the eagle in your own back yard literally as well as figuratively (and yes I know it was the side yard, but still). And how wonderful that this bird at least could rid itself of the line.
Too many of us are careless with our ‘toys’ and only think of our inconvenience when we lose them. Recently here a platypus was found drowned wound up in the stinking stuff.
How tragic about that platypus, Elephant’s Child. I can’t get that picture out of my minds eye…
Thanks Ron. It was a tragedy and I felt and feel grief and anger when I think about it. Platypuses are rare, precious, and this was most definitely an avoidable loss.
Ron – You might contact DaLyn at the rehab center to see if she has any tree climbers who donate their services for rescues or renesting. We have several here. An experienced tree climber could maybe get up there to dispose of the monofilament. I would be concerned that a crow or raven or jay wold get itself tangled while trying to scavenge the coot remains. Good luck.
Louise, I just talked to DaLyn. She agrees that the line and dead bird should come down but off the top of her head could think of no one to do it. If she comes up with anyone I’m sure she’ll get back to me. I sent her a link to this post so she can visualize the situation a little better.
Good news! I just now checked on the fishing line and dead bird and found them under the tree. Apparently the breeze was enough to cause it to come down, which really surprised me. And yes, the dead bird was a coot.
Whew!
Great surprise and a good outcome!
Charlotte
Ron, what is some of the other speculation about WNV and the cause of eagle deaths? Also, yes, I’ve seen so much carelessness by fishermen and sometimes even what looks like deliberate baiting of birds with hooks and fish meat. At one marina someone had lightly embedded fish hooks into the wooden rail, hidden by chunks of fish meat. Any bird grabbing at the meat would have been harmed by the hooks. Of course I dispose of these things when I see them but I don’t know how common that degree of malice is — beyond carelessness. So glad the eagle left the filament behind.
Ingrid, I get the impression that it’s simply skepticism that WNV is the actual culprit rather than having another specific cause in mind.
See the comment by Marjie Sanders in the link below for one example of what is apparently going around in some scientific circles.
https://www.featheredphotography.com/blog/2013/12/31/we-finally-know-why-utahs-bald-eagles-are-dying/
Thanks, Ron. I checked out the comment and did a bit of rooting around on the web. You can now count me among the skeptics.
Hi again, I also noticed one of it’s talons was just under the left side of the limb. Serious grippers..thanks shutterly yours Gary
I noticed that talon too and figured its left foot must be on a lower branch on the far side of the trunk.
Good morning sir… What a dandy image!! I noticed that this bird is banded.. Do they do that on alot of Eagles out in your region? We have alot of them here in NY. Question,do you recommend where I can have my Canon7d lens [2] of them calibrated,ot microadjusted ? I think that is what is going on with it. Because it is consistantly hard for me to get a crispy sharp image…Thank you for all your posts…. shutterly yours Gary E. Greene
Gary, I’m not sure what percent of our eagles are banded but I’ve seen several of them over the last couple of years. I get lenses calibrated at the local camera shop where I buy my gear. A lot of folks do it themselves but it’s something I’ve never tackled.
More on calibration and how to do it yourself here if you’re interested: http://photographylife.com/how-to-calibrate-lenses
This whole story is amazing. That the Eagle came to your tree…WOW!!That the eagle didn’t get all tangled up in that fishing wire is just miraculous. Sorry for the dead bird. I think that Eagle is one lucky creature!
I’ve never had a lens calibrated. hmmmm!!
Calibration can improve sharpness noticeably, Ellen. When they do it they can also tell you how far off it was before calibration.
Thanks Ron. I never knew that!
Also, thank goodness that the eagle didn’t accidentally ingest the monofilament. What a lovely treat to see this eagle in your own tree!
I’m also very curious…what kind of lens is your new lens? And, do you always have your lenses calibrated to your cameras?
I liked seeing Dick’s avatar photo as well!
Sharon, The new lens is the new version of my older Canon 500mm f/4. I’m still learning it and trying to work out a kink or two. Yes, whenever I buy a new super-telephoto I always have it calibrated to the camera because focus is so critical. Before I had it calibrated this lens was front-focusing slightly when combined with the 7D. There have been times with lenses of shorter focal lengths where I haven’t done it but probably should have…
Wow! Congratulations on your new lens! How exciting. I can’t wait to see your new images that you take with it…and, thanks for the info about calibration.
You’re very welcome, Sharon.
I like to fish, but there has to be a solution to monofilament affecting wildlife. One would think that in this society of high tech people, one could find a way to break down monofilament fishing line so that it would decompose after x-months or when in contact with sunlight or something that would NOT make it a danger to wildlife. I agree with you, I hate it as well, but some fisherman are terribly careless.
Great shot Ron!
I agree, Dick – a huge part of the problem is careless fishermen. I enjoyed seeing your avatar photo this morning – always nice to put a face with a name.