I preface this letter by saying: I am a big music fan. I know how sweet it can be to bop through the park listening to your own private soundtrack.
Recently while walking through Drake Park I witnessed a bald eagle dive bomb a flock of ducks, nearly getting one. The duck got away and my companion and I stood in awe as the eagle flew directly over our heads and landed in one of the lodge pole pines. There was a young man standing about five feet away from us with head phones on, oblivious to the seven foot wingspan right above his head. I tapped him on the shoulder and pointed out the bird, still in the tree. He grinned sheepishly and replied, “Damn iPod.”
Oddly enough, almost the same thing happened a week later. I was on the bridge in Drake Park when all at once the ouzels and ducks nearby took off in a panic. Sure enough, there comes the eagle, right over my head. This time, I could see every detail of his shaggy head and beady little eyes. A woman on the opposite end of the bridge was jogging with headphones on. I shouted, “Ma’m!” Then “Hey, Ma’am!” in an awkward mix of urgency and attempted politeness. She didn’t turn around.
Since that odd week of eagle sightings that only I could “see,” I have been noticing the eagle everywhere, both while driving and in the park. I learned that it is a seasonal nesting ground for him.
It’s like when you finally notice something you start seeing it everywhere.
So, if you don’t want to turn your music down to allow well-meaning strangers to point out things you may be missing- eagles, fire, alien spacecrafts landing- at least look up every once in awhile.
– Jamie Houghton, Bend
This article appears in May 12-18, 2011.
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Could be a problem here. The bald eagle is a fish predator, for the most part. If the river has a normal fish population the eagles do not threaten ducks. Might be something to look into.
On the other hand, when the cougars start attacking bald eagles, I’ll know the prediction about May 21 being the “Rapture(TM)” and the “End of the World©” may be something that’s gaining ascendancy if not outright lift off.