Given the hoo-ha whipped up about the possibility of reintroducing white-tailed eagles back to East Anglia I was interested in seeing the lengths to which Americans go to celebrate their national bird - the bald eagle (a close relative of the white-tailed eagle).
Around this time of year there are eagle days in Iowa, Idaho, Oklahoma and Illinois. In Utah , Connecticut and Wisconsin you have to wait until February, South Dakota goes for March, Alaska opts for November and that's where I stopped looking. But the tone of all these events is highly celebratory. These local communities are chuffed to bits that they have eagles that have made such a good population recovery and you get the impression that the more bald eagles there are, the happier people are.
And these are people who are living with eagles - they might be expected to know a thing or two about them!
A love of the natural world demonstrates that a person is a cultured inhabitant of planet Earth.
Of course the British are different the Americans I would think have always had a certain number of Eagles around so used to them.Would not think many people in East Anglia have seen Sea Eagles above them.
Guess the party really begins for landowners on Mull the day the compensation cheques are taken round to them.
One question I have never solved is that it is said they have done so well and yet official figures seem to say approximately 200 Sea Eagles in Scotland which considering the numbers brought in and 25 years of breeding seems to me a very small number,perhaps someone has a answer or views on this,after all Mark in his blog says what a good recovery the Bald Eagle has made and Sea Eagles are so closely related would have expected similar results.Think the partners need to work hard with meetings for landowners in the next year and get them onside as it is essential to persuade them rather than try and beat them with big stick.