Our national bird in Texas

[MCgunner]

I was goose hunting Sunday and Monday of this week and witnessed something that surprised me. Two immature bald eagles flew over and the guide pointed 'em out. A bit later, a huge group of snows that'd been in a field over an irrigation canal levee flew up all at once and over us. The guide says, "Might be an eagle after 'em." Sure enough, as the last group of geese flew over, here comes a bald eagle looking to pick off a straggler. WOW, I was enthralled. I had no idea there were that many bald eagles in this part of the state. They existed in the east Texas piney woods, knew that, and I'd drove out to the lake Texana dam 20 or so years back to watch a nesting eagle feeding her young off the river below the dam, nested in a tree. Looked like a condo, HUGE nest. But, I sure thought eagles were more rare than that in Texas. According to a site I googled from Texas Parks and Wildlife, though, the birds are no longer even threatened in Texas, being taken off the threatened list in 2007.

Goose hunting is HUGE in this part of the state, a major industry, hunting mainly in rice fields as rice is a major crop and attracts huge numbers of mainly snow and white fronted (speckle belly) geese. Cripples are a fact of life as the birds, especially after they're educated late season, can be hard to get into good, sure shooting range on a blue bird day. The eagles, apparently, are attracted by the human hunting of the geese, easy meals. So, they're around here big time. I'd never seen 'em chase a flock of geese, though. THAT was neat and worth getting up at 3:30AM for.

We only shot 4 birds Sunday morning, but the eagle watching was good.

http://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/species/baldeagle/

 

[230RN]

I see them around here once in a while, but most of my skyview is obstructed by trees. Probably a lot more soaring around here than I actually see.

Magnificent birds. And to think one of our nation's founders (Ben Franklin) wanted our national bird to be a turkey. But it was just a bit of whimsy in a letter to his daughter:

“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.

"With all this injustice, he is never in good case but like those among men who live by sharping & robbing he is generally poor and often very lousy. Besides he is a rank coward: The little King Bird not bigger than a Sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the district. He is therefore by no means a proper emblem for the brave and honest Cincinnati of America who have driven all the King birds from our country…

“I am on this account not displeased that the Figure is not known as a Bald Eagle, but looks more like a Turkey. For the Truth the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America… He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage, and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his Farm Yard with a red Coat on.”

Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-...residential-seal-6623414/#lQPWqsk4eIhyYIdU.99

Note his reference to Cincinnati:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucius_Quinctius_Cincinnatus

Terry, 230RN

 

[Art Eatman]

Neat! I've seen Goldens in west Texas, but no Baldies. The only bald eagle I've seen was playing buzzard in the borrow ditch along US 319 between Thomasville and Tallahassee.

There's an organized boat tour deal on the Colorado River above Austin, somewhere. Maybe above Lake Buchanan. Seasonal watching of bald eagle gatherings.

 

[MCgunner]

Well, it's part of why I've LOVED hunting and the outdoors from an early age. You can't see things like this watching football on TV all fall. That was my step dad's thing. He'd get miffed because I wouldn't hang around for the games on Thanksgiving. I got up early and hit the woods, usually, just to get out of the house. Don't care for football or stick and ball sports even today.

I started waterfowling at the age of 14 on my own and with buddies. It was the only hunting I had other than squirrel and rabbit as we had no deer in the woods around Jones Creek and there were no hogs back then, either. I became a crazy enthusiastic duck and goose hunter. One didn't need land to do it as there was lots of tidal marsh and now days WMAs and NWRs that are GREAT hunting, all along the coast.

Now that I'm retired and can afford a few trips each season, I live smack in the middle of the best goose hunting in Texas, though it's all private and requires money, whether a hunting club or a guide/outfitter. I prefer to use an outfitter for goose hunts because putting all those danged deeks out, in my case Texas Rags (windsock deeks), is a pain by yourself and I'm getting too old to do it all myself. It's worth the guide fee for me. Heck, Sunday, they already had the deeks in place. All we did was get there and lay out. I still drive down to Port Lavaca with the travel trailer and go duck hunting at Tivoli (Guadalupe Delta WMA) a couple trips a year, ain't that far, but for geese, I prefer the hunting here. I'm 20 miles west of Eagle Lake and about 20 miles from Garwood. This is friggin' heaven.

http://www.ducks.org/hunting/waterfowl-hunting-destinations/goose-towns

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

They are pretty common now in NE Kansas as well (the eagles). They like to hang out at the Bowersock power plant dam on the Kaw river in Lawrence. I even had one in a tree out back here one afternoon. A couple of redtail hawks were pestering it but it did not seem too impressed...

 

[MCgunner]

Was riding out to Big Bend in 1974, saw a redtail hawk over the highway. He was diving on a golden eagle trying to run it out of his territory I'm guessing. He'd dive down on it and when he got close, the eagle would flip over on his back and put his talons up to greet the hawk. 3 dives and either the hawk gave up, or the eagle was sufficiently out of his territory. I pulled over, grabbed my binoculars that were in the car, and watched the show.

 

[jmorris]

I noticed two off Hwy 19 back in October between Emory and Canton. At first I thought they were the "buzzards" that are everywhere (turkey vultures) but they were in fact bald eagles, not very common in that area.