Eagles Convene the Spring Selection Committee

B. McPherson



Spring can’t be far off when the senior eagles on Vancouver Island convene their selection committees. It seems a tad early, but groups of the senior eagles, those with the white heads and tails, start gathering in the tops of trees and old cedar snags. They know when it’s time for birds that don’t have a mate to shop for one.

The eastern coast of Vancouver Island boasts a temperate climate. We’ve had a few frosty mornings and one day we had a little snow, but temperatures are moving up along with the lengthening days.

Today the neighbour’s cedar snags saw three eagles perched and calling. Coming in from the barn this afternoon, two juveniles were hanging about, but definitely excluded from the committee.

There was a time not so long ago that misguided people sought to shoot or poison these magnificent birds, then the spread of DDT helped to make the eggs too fragile to hatch. Bald eagles in our area have made a comeback and we are privileged to see them on a nearly daily basis.

The health of the eagle population depends on many things – preservation of suitable habitat, health of the salmon runs, safety from poachers. If we do our part, the committees will be sitting helping our grandchildren anticipate spring years from now.

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