Monday, February 22, 2010

Sloppy Fishermen


In Minnesota in the winter, if you find open water it means that you just might see some wildlife.  We stopped  at a creek just north of us. 

Someone had been fishing without a license.  Not only that he was a sloppy fisherman.  He killed some fish and left them in the icy depths of the creek.

Chance had to investigate..yup dead fish..perfect to roll in..nope we stopped him just in time. 

The Bald Eagles sure do leave a mess.  I have never understood these creatures..I suppose they were interrupted and will come back later to clean up their mess..they weren't anywhere in sight.  They are pretty much a useless bird in my opinion, and their numbers are increasing.  There used to be only one pair in this area, now there are a number of pairs. Soon they will give up on fishing and concentrate on road killed deer as soon as the snow starts to melt in the ditches and the dead deer are uncovered. They pick the carcass clean until there is nothing but bones left.    Yup..perfect national symbol:(   

24 comments:

Becca's Dirt said...

Lucky Chance to go INSIDE the bank for his snack. Good Boy! He is so cute and must be as sweet as he looks.
I forgot where I put my bucket list. Could it be sometimers setting in?
We have what we call "buzzards". I can't think of what their proper name is but it isn't "Bald Eagle".

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

Sooooo glad ya stopped Chance before he started the dead roll.....ewwwww! Yep, we have eagles here too and also those ugly turkey buzzards. Ode to he circle of life. Great pics hon.

God bless and have a glorious day!!!

Unknown said...

I would love to see a bald eagle! Maybe some day you'll get a picture of one and share it! They have been released in Indiana but I've never seen one.

Linda said...

Calvin Coolidge wanted the wild turkey for the country's symbol. I'm surprised you're seeing so many bald eagles since they are so territorial.

Anonymous said...

Bald eagle=Buzzard in a tux

Anonymous said...

I'll trade you bald eagles for the nasty buzzards that hang out here in the Valley. Maybe someday I'll getlucky and hit one on the road:)Did I just say that outloud? Oops.

L. D. said...

They are everywhere along the Mississippi down here. We rarely see them here. I can understand your frustration with them.

Jeanne Estridge said...

They're a nice-looking metaphor on the surface, but definitely one you don't want to dig too deeply into....

DJan said...

Chance is a smart dog, I wonder what the thrill of rolling in dead things is. Could you ask him for me?

Peace Thyme said...

I do not have anything against animals that completely use other animals for their survival. As opposed to homo sapiens, who will shoot an animal just for its fur or its "rack" or whatever. Now, that is frustrating, as far as I am concerned. By the way, the eagles were there first, I imagine. Just like the elk and deer and mountain lion and bear here in my mountains.

Les Barr said...

Good that you stopped Chance from rolling in that stuff. Would make him smell after awhile. Some nice Images of that creek wondering thru the country side.

Eagles are not very common around here, except that there are supposed to be 2 nesting pairs up near a place that I frequent for wildlife. I've never seen any there. The closest place for me to see a Bald Eagle is at the Conowingo Dam down in MD. Those Turkey Buzzards are common here. We call them "Natures Garbage Pickers" along with the common Crow.

Karen Anne said...

I believe it was Ben Franklin who wanted to turkey to be the national symbol.

Bald Eagles are handsome birds, and mate for life, unlike another species I can think of :-) They also clean up carrion. In the overall spectrum of species usefulness and not damaging the planet, I give them several points up on us.

Gail said...

Beautiful pictures. If it weren't for dead meat eaters, the place sure would get messy.

Patsy said...

Glad to see ice is melting.
Patsy

The Retired One said...

I LOVE the eagles...I think they are beautiful!

Lynda said...

And you caught me at the beginning - - I really thought it was going to be people who were fishing - - like poachers. It's a great post from beginning to the end.
Eagles are amazing. I found that out when I was doing research for one of our Adult Reading Programs called S.O.A.R. which stood for Spiritually Oriented Adult Reading. There are many Scriptures that come alive when you understand some of the eagles' characteristics.

Rae said...

We don't have Eagles, but we have gigantic messy crows by the thousands. They have taken over our area. Last Audubon count one month ago was 207,000. Our human population is only 30,000. They are disgusting filthy creatures - the birds - of course some of the humans are too.

RURAL said...

We were thrilled to see a juvenile bald eagle yesterday. Guess I won't be sharing that photo with you. LOL.

Jen

Anonymous said...

we see these critters fairly often here in montana... methinks tho they're in hibernation this time of year :)

gp

Lanny said...

Hey, love your opinion of the bald ones! We dislike the large fellas because they usually manage to pick off a lamb or two, or more. And when we make it hard for them to get the lambs they fly off with our ducks without paying the bill. When they take out a lamb it is a drawn out affair, beginning with plucking their eyes and bottom out to bleed them to death, not a pretty site even for non-tree huggers to come across.

And no, for the record after watching and witnessing their distruction for twenty years, they do not always come back to finish up their meal, we have actually had them kill more without even eating but a few bites of the first one they killed. They are not "higher" beings, never knew a bald eagle to cure a disease, or care for someone or do anything past the instincts that God gave them.

LadyFi said...

That first photo is lovely with the reflections of the snow in the water.

RosieJo said...

We took a cruise to Alaska and saw eagles and whales. No locals had much good to say about the eagles. They look at them as a nusiance. It seems they will take your pet dog, cat or your small child if given any opportunity, and if one takes up residence in a tree near your property, you are just out of luck! Now, whales are different. Seems that they are smart and loved by all. Maybe we should re-think our National symbols...

DayPhoto said...

You made me laugh and laugh and laugh. The perfect symbol.

I have a bird I love to see, but it also is a road kill eater. Which is good, because Colorado doesn't clean up it's road kill. It is a magpie. They are beautiful and necessary.

Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com/

Maery Rose said...

So glad you stopped Chance in time! Nothing worse than a dead fish roll!