 It was a cold, windy day in the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Florida. As we were walking along, we heard a sharp, screeching sound and saw a huge bird flying above. For a moment it appeared still, with its wings spread wide. To our great joy, it flew down and settled on the top of a tree: it was the Red tailed hawk, one of the largest of birds in North America.
Red tailed hawks have excellent vision. They can see colors, even in the ultraviolet range, which we humans cannot and their fantastic eyesight helps them find and catch prey from far distances. Red tails also have an extra eyelid. This transparent eyelid is called the nictitating membrane. They can close this extra eyelid when perched to shield their eyes from wind and for protection when diving into the water to make a kill. Native Americans are said to have had a spiritual relationship with red-tail hawks. They are considered sacred and a protector spirit of the Cherokees. According to Native American shamans, the red-tailed hawk with its sharp, eagle-like whistle indicates that ‘you should clear your mind.’ Moreover if one spots them it is an augury that something very sacred is about to take place and the Creator is giving a message that a miracle is on the way. One of the Red tailed Hawks made its way to Manhattan in the 90s, built its nest on a 12th floor ledge in Fifth Avenue and quickly adapted to its urban environment with remarkable ease. It attracted a lot of attention and was called Pale Male. Soon Pale Male found a partner in Lola and sired many youngsters. Unfortunately they failed to reproduce in 2004 when the residents of the apartment that Pale Male had selected for its nest, had it removed. There was a huge outcry and the public railed against the move and protests stopped traffic along Fifth Avenue! Eight years later, his new mate Lima was found dead in Central Park, most likely from eating a poisoned rat. The fate of Pale Male is shrouded in mystery. It was the subject of a documentary and a slew of books. During its presence in Manhattan it lured and inspired many urbanites to the pleasures of bird watching! Red tailed hawk On its perch A Hypnotic beauty Kindly post your comments here!
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 As we were cruising along in the languid waters of the Everglades, the boat man whispered, Bald Eagle! There it was, soaring high up in the sky, flapping its wings and gliding. It spotted an osprey and in a second dove down and stole a fish from its beak! Having lost its catch, the osprey flew off meekly in another direction. Though I had seen the bald eagle on many occasions during its sorties in the sky, I had never been fortunate enough to have a close look at it. I was fervently hoping that luck would favour me this time around. To my great joy, after stealing the prey, the bald eagle settled down on the top branch of a tree and I watched it, totally enthralled for a minute, before it flew off. It is hard not to be marvelled by the regal presence of the bald eagle. That I had an opportunity to see one up close, is one my most treasured moments of birding!
The bald eagle's head is actually not bald! The name comes from an old English word, ‘balde’ meaning white. It can soar over 10,000 feet and because of its phenomenal eyesight it can see fish up to a mile away. When it spots one, it swoops down at 100 miles an hour, glides just above the water and snags the fish with its feet. Bald eagles are unusually devoted spouses and parents. They mate for life and tend not to move homes unless forced to. Descendants of kites, eagles have been around for more than thirty million years. While no one knows precisely when the bald eagle appeared on the scene, the earliest known fossil remains that closely resemble the bald eagle date back to about a million years ago. The bald eagle first appeared as an American symbol on a Massachusetts copper cent coined in 1776. Since then it has appeared on the reverse side of many U.S. coins. For six years, the members of Congress had a bitter dispute over what the national emblem should be. One of the most prominent opponents to the bald eagle’s status was Benjamin Franklin. He wrote: “I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country; he is a bird of bad moral character; like those among men who live by sharping and robbing, he is generally poor, and often very lousy. The turkey is a much more respectable bird and a true, original native of America''. Other members in the Congress did not share Franklin’s sentiments. The Congress ultimately made it the central figure on the Great Seal of the United States in 1782. It displayed the bald eagle at its centre, wings outstretched, clutching an olive branch and a bundle of arrows. Representing fidelity, self-reliance, strength, and courage, the charismatic bird became more than a patriotic totem and quickly attained a venerable perch in America’s iconography. Its visage appeared on the US capitol dome and pediments, hard and paper currency, business and sports-team logos, coat buttons and cufflinks, Yet as the American public revered the symbol, the bird itself was seen as a villain. Farmers in the 19th century loathed the birds, believing that they killed livestock, and a strange but popular myth claimed that the raptor could even snatch up helpless human babies. With the advent of DDT, its numbers plummeted. It is unthinkable that such a lofty bird could ever face extinction, let alone stare down that possibility twice, both times at the hands of humans. Rachel Carson's seminal book in 1962, Silent Spring helped to spark the environmental movement and exposed the hazards of rampant pesticide use on birds and other wildlife. The Environmental Protection Agency eventually banned DDT a decade later, just two years after the agency was established and their numbers soared. Without these actions the bald eagle could have gone the way of the dodo The bald eagle has the power to mesmerise and inspire. We all know Herman Melville for Moby Dick, but he also wrote poetry. In 1866, he published a book of poems about the Civil War called “Battle Pieces and Aspects of the Civil War”. One of the poems in the collection is “The Eagle of the Blue”, written about Ole Abe the War Eagle, the famous live bald eagle mascot of the 8th Wisconsin Infantry. Named after Abraham Lincoln, it saw a lot of action during the war. The Old Abe came out of every fight relatively unscathed, in spite of being shot at by Confederate soldiers eager to kill it. I particularly like these lines in the poem which captures the essence of bald eagle: No painted plume—a sober hue, His beauty is his power; That eager calm of gaze intent Foresees the Sibyl’s hour. Do let the bald eagle know what you think of it...your comments here!! |
Dr Raguram
Someone who keeps exploring beyond the boundaries of everyday life to savor and share those unforgettable moments.... Archives
May 2024
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