? . i I, I, i -
VOL. XL
PORTLAND, OREGON, SUNDAY MORNING, MAY 15, 1921
NO. 20
C Eagles SMlf QUB5t Haunt 1
1 All Unknowing Thousands Pass m
1 aceof Birds' P r n
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1 : ' f'Ll " PHOTOS BYMr.SOML"
a pair of bald eagles, the proud birds ' . X Y',J JM
BY DeWTT HARRY.
THE story is told of the young
man, satiated with city life and
imbued with the spirit of adven
ture engendered by a liberal perusal
of current nature fiction, who went
west In search of a primeval surcease
from the worries o.f civilization. He
located a homestead In a secluded and
mountainous section of the' sunset
fringe of the United States and sev.
eral years after going: there was vis
ited by a friend from his former home
and this friend found him dwelling
In contentment, but worried by the
advent of the moving tide of settlers
and determined to move to some more
remote locality. This is told to show
that humans possibly love seclusion
as much as any other beings, for, con
trary to the accepted belief that wild
life wuultt be thought of as existent
fn far places. It is near the surface
In this surprising country of ours.
Bagles yes, we have all heard of
them and our fancy possibly creates
them circling about their nests, lo
cate on a crag that Juts from a dizzy
precipice Inaccessible, to man. But,
the facts of the case are different, for
a pair of bald eagles, the proud birds
that spread their -wings on the seal
of the United States, have nested for
the past five years within a few hun
dred yards of the stream of tourjsts
that daily pours over the Columbia
highway. All unsuspected except by
those familiar with their haunt, these
birds have constructed their nests and
raised their families, making their
daily foraging trips through the sur
rounding peaceful and well-settled
country.
Just out of sight of the broad high
way these magnificent birds have
built a nest in the construction of
which they have used a small cart
load of sticks and brush. It is not
a careless job. this nest building, for
the five-foot nest must be woven for
strength and will bear the weight of
a man. When the photographers
made the set of pictures that accom
pany this article they did: not meet
a - pair of . fighting birds, for the
mother rose at their approach . and
soared away over the hills. The par
ents kept at least half a mile distant
1 Full-frown bald ele. 3 When about three weeks old. 3 Boklmaa and Flnley photographing eagles.
' ' 'About 40 days of age. 5 A fighting face. 0 Royal twlna, 62 days old.
from the men who, visited their nest
and this might possibly be a disap
pointment for some who expect men
tion of an eagle to be current with
one of fight, but the birds have possl.
bly - learned from -persecution -that
safety lies in flight.
Eagles are mated for life and each
year it Is their custom to return to
their old nest and reline it. They will
hunt and. travel together, are insep
arable and when, the eggs are laid
will perch at some place nearby where
they can overlook the nest and at the
same time watch the country for food.
When the . y Quits are . hatched 'the
mother. would stay to the last before
sailing away when the men. appeared
with their cameras and as the fledg
lings grew older they would resent
the visits of the humans and show
their, displeasure in. no ' uncertain
terms. The food that they demand is
flesh and the. parent birds make their
kills several ' times a : day. for their
young, much of it consisting of squir
rels and tmall animals. There are
those who claim that the bald eagle
will eat carrion, like e, vulture, and
that the' true-bird for such a noble
purpose as the national seal would be
the golden eagle. The bald eagle de
vours immense quantities of fish. ,
William I Flnley says that life to
an eagle is a - cruel, harsh reality,
blood from start to finish; everything
to them is serious. The pictures ac
companying this article were made by
Herman T. Bohlman and Finley, Port
land men and admittedly among thi
greatest bird students in the nation.
The youngsters appeared as if they
would gladly have torn to shreds the
hands of the humans who came near
them and were steady In their defi
ance, . Their nature Is a 'savage one
and tKelr deepset eyes under shaggy
brows have the appearance of always
peering into the distance for thei.
prey. ,
The' first eggs are generally laid
about the first week in March and !'
takes the mother bird about a month
to hatch them, the young generally
appearing in April. .This month they
should be getting their pin feathers
and by June look like f-.e large birds
in the pictures, If the parent birds
have gone to housekeeping this year,
for a pair of eagles will sometimes
miss a season.
But who would think that a short
motor ride from the city would carry
you Into the midst of a region popu
lated by birds and beasts thought tc
live only in remote eectlons of the
wilds.- The bald eagle, emblem of
the United States, is essentially a bird
of prey and weighs as much as 14
pounds when full grown. Some nat
uralists hold that they can kill their
prey by striking it as they aoar from
high in the sky, a tremendous blow,
when it Is figured what a force a 14-
pound body would have in falling
from a height of a mile or more.
However, most observers critic's
the bald eagle on account of his liking
theft, holding that this great proud
bird would rather take food awi
from sonio more fortonate forager
than to go after it himself. The eagle
is king of the air and the pair who
live near the Columbia can often be
Been In their majestic flights.
Irish Lad Would Be C'owpunchcr.
HELENA. Mont. Somewhere In
Ireland there is an Irish lad who
hopes some day to become a cow
puncher In tho state of Montana. In
a letter to the editor of the Helena,
Montana, Record Herald, David John
Callahan of Athlone, Westmeath
county, Ireland, asks that he be sup
plied with Information as to ranch
employment. He asks as to climate
of Montana, ranch conditions, the
kind of clothing worn and ends up
his letter by asking if the cowboys
have a union.
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