by Man In Alaska Feeds Bald Eagles
The bald eagle has been the emblem of the United States since 1782. Prior to that, the bald eagle was a ʀᴇᴠᴇʀᴇᴅ spiritual symbol of the Nᴀᴛɪᴠᴇ Aᴍᴇʀɪᴄᴀɴs, according to All About Birds. Bald eagles, named for their gleaming white-feathered heads, were once a ʀᴀʀᴇ sight.
They were once ᴇɴᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀᴇᴅ because of ʜᴜɴᴛɪɴɢ, ʟᴏss ᴏꜰ ʜᴀʙɪᴛᴀᴛ, and ᴘᴇsᴛɪᴄɪᴅᴇs. However, the bald eagle population is now thriving thanks to protective laws. Now you can spot bald eagles high in the sky, flying low or perched in treetops near lakes, reservoirs, rivers, marshes, and coasts. They’ll often be spotted sᴄᴀᴠᴇɴɢɪɴɢ for a meal, ꜰɪɢʜᴛɪɴɢ other birds for their meals, or eating ᴄᴀʀʀɪᴏɴ or ɢᴀʀʙᴀɢᴇ. It is, however, ʀᴀʀᴇ to see multiple bald eagles at one. That is unless you’re at a ᴡɪʟᴅʟɪꜰᴇ refuge or in Alaska or the Pᴀᴄɪꜰɪᴄ Nᴏʀᴛʜᴡᴇsᴛ. One place where bald eagles love to congregate is Dutch Harbor, Alaska. This place is known to be crawling with bald eagles. According to Wired, Dutch Harbor is a fishing village of about 4,700 people in the Aleutian Islands. It is also home to more than 500 eagles. The Dutch Harbor bald eagles are famous for swooping on the docks, picking through trash, and snatching grocery bags from humans. This is why they are known as “Dutch Harbor pigeons.” “You think of them as these iconic models of what people like to think of America as, but it’s all about perception,” Corey Arnold, author of Aleutian Dreams, told Wired. “Photographing them in these ᴄᴏᴍᴘʀᴏᴍɪsɪɴɢ situations, like in ɢᴀʀʙᴀɢᴇ cans—it’s ironic.” Since Dutch Harbor ᴄᴀᴛᴄʜᴇs more fish than any other port town in the country, it ᴀᴛᴛʀᴀᴄᴛs lots of eagles who like to help themselves to that fish. The man named Jesse Peck grabbed a bowl full with shrimps and intended to share it with the bald eagles gathered on a deck. But soon as he started to feed the ᴍᴀᴊᴇsᴛɪᴄ birds, more and more of them joined. The result was a very impressive sight, for any bird lover out there. Just like in a ꜰᴇᴇᴅɪɴɢ ꜰʀᴇɴᴢʏ, the ᴍᴀssɪᴠᴇ flock of eagles immediately finished Peck’s bowl with shrimps. At some point, the man even throws some pieces in the air and the ᴍᴀᴊᴇsᴛɪᴄ birds grabbed them swarming. It’s really something else to see so many of these ᴍᴀᴊᴇsᴛɪᴄ creatures in one place at the same time.
He throws some fish into the air and a group of about 10 them come swarming. Then the camera pans to reveal that there’s actually about 20 of them on the boat. But that wasn’t all as shortly after he finished the feeding, Peck grabbed his camera to show there were many more eagles, all over the harbour.
