Alaska is crazy

[usuallylurking]

May 7, 2013 22:08:59 GMT -5 litebright said:

May 7, 2013 22:03:14 GMT -5 usuallylurking said:

I don't know where she got this, but I promise it's not fake.  I have tons of pictures that look like this, and it's easy to "bait" the eagles in about February when they are very hungry and the salmon haven't started running yet.

He is like, "Eagles don't flock! And that eagle-snatching-the-baby video was fake, so I don't buy this one, either." 

I keep trying to tell him that if they're so not-scared of people that they will come to a parking lot and eat out of a truck, that they might act a leeeetle bit differently than expected. Kind of like deer. 

Haha.  They'll flock in the presence of food, that's for sure.  sFIL owns property that a cannery operates out of, as well as a dock on that same property.  I have pictures of 30+ eagles in one photo because they are flocked to a bin of the scraps that was left open.  There are actually huge fines associated with that because the eagles will be so hungry they'll drown in the biodry.  The younger ones are the ones with spotted feathers - they look kind of hawk-like.  It takes them 5 years to become "mature" and look like the picturesque bald eagle.  Usually you can see that the younger ones don't (typically) get in on the goodies until the mature ones either 1, let them, or the younger ones hold their own and earn their place.

[Deleted]

Oh God the video.

[litebright]

May 7, 2013 22:09:53 GMT -5 @jezebel said:

May 7, 2013 22:00:00 GMT -5 litebright said:

@jezebel Do you know where she got this? My DH is convinced it has to be fake.

kucb.org/news/article/police-break-up-eagle-party-at-safeway/

OMG, I love it! Eagle party broken up by police! That is the best news article I have read in FOREVER. 

Ain't no party like an eagle party! 

[litebright]

May 7, 2013 22:14:21 GMT -5 usuallylurking said:

May 7, 2013 22:08:59 GMT -5 litebright said:

He is like, "Eagles don't flock! And that eagle-snatching-the-baby video was fake, so I don't buy this one, either." 

I keep trying to tell him that if they're so not-scared of people that they will come to a parking lot and eat out of a truck, that they might act a leeeetle bit differently than expected. Kind of like deer. 

Haha.  They'll flock in the presence of food, that's for sure.  sFIL owns property that a cannery operates out of, as well as a dock on that same property.  I have pictures of 30+ eagles in one photo because they are flocked to a bin of the scraps that was left open.  There are actually huge fines associated with that because the eagles will be so hungry they'll drown in the biodry.  The younger ones are the ones with spotted feathers - they look kind of hawk-like.  It takes them 5 years to become "mature" and look like the picturesque bald eagle.  Usually you can see that the younger ones don't (typically) get in on the goodies until the mature ones either 1, let them, or the younger ones hold their own and earn their place.

 Awesome. I had no idea it took so long for them to grow up. 

[Deleted]

May 7, 2013 22:20:21 GMT -5 litebright said:

May 7, 2013 22:09:53 GMT -5 @jezebel said:

kucb.org/news/article/police-break-up-eagle-party-at-safeway/

OMG, I love it! Eagle party broken up by police! That is the best news article I have read in FOREVER. 

Ain't no party like an eagle party! 

NPR actually did a story on the police blotter there.  The woman who writes it is hilarious.  

www.npr.org/2012/04/07/150148340/small-towns-police-blotter-is-a-riot

[nursewife]

I've always been fascinated by bald eagles. I would be so excited to see so many!

[mirandahobbes]

When MH and I first got to
Alaska, we were all " OMG Eagles!!1!11". By the end of our trip, we were all "oh an Eagle. *yawn*"

[litebright]

May 7, 2013 22:30:23 GMT -5 @jezebel said:

May 7, 2013 22:20:21 GMT -5 litebright said:

OMG, I love it! Eagle party broken up by police! That is the best news article I have read in FOREVER. 

Ain't no party like an eagle party! 

NPR actually did a story on the police blotter there.  The woman who writes it is hilarious.  

www.npr.org/2012/04/07/150148340/small-towns-police-blotter-is-a-riot

OMG, that is fantastic beyond words. Lovelovelove. 

[flex]

Bald eagles will eat anything. They hang out at the dump in Kodiak like seagulls.

[catbus]

Ha! Yes, specifically Dutch Harbor is crazy. My company does a lot of work out of DH and I hear all sorts of crazy stories.

[catbus]

Oh, and yeah it's totally real. Same thing happens if any of my company's products aren't totally securely covered at all times up there. And a tarp with tie-downs doesn't cut it.
Edit: Was going to add something about the fines associated with this, but usuallylurking already covered it. It happened once when a new warehouse manager started (moved from the lower 48) and apparently didn't realize that the rule meant REALLY NEVER EVER leave things out in the open, even just for a minute. LOL. 

[usuallylurking]

May 7, 2013 22:44:41 GMT -5 flex said:

Bald eagles will eat anything. They hang out at the dump in Kodiak like seagulls.

Get out of my head! Lol.

[winelady]

Awesome!

[jayded]

That's really neat, from a distance.

[usuallylurking]

May 7, 2013 22:48:32 GMT -5 catbus said:

Oh, and yeah it's totally real. Same thing happens if any of my company's products aren't totally securely covered at all times up there. And a tarp with tie-downs doesn't cut it.
Edit: Was going to add something about the fines associated with this, but usuallylurking already covered it. It happened once when a new warehouse manager started (moved from the lower 48) and apparently didn't realize that the rule meant REALLY NEVER EVER leave things out in the open, even just for a minute. LOL. 

I get all excited in these threads because I'm still new to AK (4th year anniversary in June!) so I'm "Ooo! Eagles!" and "OMG BEARS!!!" and whales and otters and puffins, oh my! Lol. H has thanked me for re-exciting him about our wildlife.

I'm going to have to figure out how to post pics to share my eagle, bear and whale photos.

[joshlyman]

Well now we know where the REAL Amuricans live.