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.
I have now enjoyed three visits to Alaska staying with friends on the Kenai Peninsula. They are great fishermen and hunters as well as being skilled naturalists.
Unlike their British equivalents they have nothing bad to say about Bald Eagles and even attract them to feeding areas in the worst winter weather. They also proudly show off their local breeding birds on their enormous.
They also appreciate that these magnificent birds along with other wildlife like Bears, Wolves etc bring in huge amounts of cash through tourism.
Why are the British so different?
Save our wildlife before it is too late.