A Feathered Visitor

 I came home from the boat in the afternoon last week and Jan met me at the door and said there was an eagle on the ground out back. I didn't want to spook it or cause it undue distress if it was sick or hurt, so  went to the kitchen and looked out the window. Sure as the world, an adult bald eagle was resting on a hemlock root in the back yard. I looked it over as carefully as I could with the window between us, and I couldn't really determine that there was anything wrong with it. Of course this happened on Memorial Day, so there weren't any government offices open. I didn't want to contact the cops, because I figured they knew about as much about eagles as I did, and the wildlife trooper was probably either out checking on fishermen or enjoying the holiday himself. I tried calling two different bird ladies here in town, but neither of them responded, so I figured he was going to be on his own for a day or two. Sometimes when eagles grab large salmon they end up in the water. It's my understanding that they can't let go once they get their talons in unless they get on land. When that happens, their feathers can get drenched and they spread their wings on the beach to dry off. This guy didn't appear to be wet though, so I was kind of afraid that he was sick. It's not normal for eagles to stay on the ground. Usually they find the highest branch in the tallest tree and observe their surroundings. As night approached, I looked out the window and saw his white head in the darkness so I was quite worried for him. As it was though, early in the morning when I got up and looked out the window, he was gone. I had feared that a large dog might try to attack him, although I think he probably could hold his own in a fight with a dog. It was quite the relief  to see he'd gone. It was the second bird encounter I'd had that week. Earlier in the week I had gone to Hoonah  Trading to buy some groceries. It was sunny and warm, and I had my windows half way down when I parked in the lot. I went in and bought some milk and bread and a few other groceries and dropped them off inside the car. I needed to go down to hardware, so I didn't think twice about the groceries. When I came out of hardware, the store manager called me and said a raven had flown in the car window and stolen my bread. I thought at first it just got a piece or two, but when I went around the corner I saw the bread bag and two or three ravens fighting over some slices on the ground. Not only had it gotten the bread, it poked a hole in a carton of milk, and then decided it wasn't what it wanted. These ravens seem especially aggressive this year. I've watched them eat food out of a dog's bowl outside, and I've actually seen them pry the lid off a garbage can and start picking through the garbage. If you leave a garbage bag of paper products or lawn clippings, they'll tear through the bag and scatter the contents until they've determined there isn't anything to eat inside. They are such a nuisance. To top it off, as soon as it gets light ( around 4 AM ) they start calling each other right outside my window. It goes on for the better part of an hour. I'd like to figure out a way to electrify the tree branches and give them a good jolt when they start in. It would be my luck that I'd catch the tree on fire and it would fall on the house. Oh well.