After returning from Perry Phillips Lake (southeast of Columbia) this morning, I filed my report with eBird. That report included 13 Canada geese, a turkey vulture, two bald eagles and a dozen songbird species. Despite the eagles, my sightings will receive little attention from regional birders.
Indeed, thanks to the ban on DDT use, the enforcement of hunting restrictions and the construction of large reservoirs across the country, bald eagles are now rather common in most regions of the U.S. Though I was 29 before I first encountered our National Bird in the wild, I have since seen hundreds (if not thousands) of these majestic raptors.
Whether they continue to turn up at Perry Phillips Lake is another matter. Ongoing "development" nearly surrounds the lake at this point; formerly the centerpiece of a large farm, the lake has become suburbanized. Though we humans responded appropriately to the hazards of DDT use, we seem unconcerned about the relentless destruction of natural habitat, a process that threatens many species of wildlife.
