Kelly McAllister wrote:
<<However, Bald Eagles sometimes appear quite oblivious to the
things going on
> around them. >>
>
> Two years ago I was flyfishing on the Situk River near Yakutat,
> Alaska. The eulachons, small smelt-like fish, were migrating up and
> spawning in this narrow river. At one small pool in the river, there
> must have been at least 20-30 eagles. There was a thick forest all
> around, and the eagles were perched in the trees directly above the
> pool, or on rocks. They were hunting for the eulachons (called
> "hooligans" by the locals) and I was hunting for steelhead. Many
> times I was only ten feet from them. Several of them flew by me so
> close I could hear the fluttering/whooshing sound of their wings while
> turning their heads to look at me. Up until that point I always
> thought when eagles flew they were silent. There was a large snag
> (dead log) jutting out into the center of the pool. The eagles and I
> took turns going out on the snag to look into the water. I would have
> to climb out onto it, but they would just fly up and perch on the end
> of it. Every time I left the snag, one flew in and took my place.
> And then when the other eagle left, I climbed back out. It was fun
> to watch them looking at me. We eventually all developed a rhythm of
> moving around the pool and not getting in each others way. It was
> clear to me they weren't bothered by me. The next day I went back and
> they were gone, and so were the eulachons.
>
> Franny Drobny
> Seattle, Washington
> fdrobny at cairncross.com
>