4 ms·

This is great news. It is really about the pesticides more than anything else. In my area, hawks are EVERYWHERE. I see at least 1 every 5 miles along the highwa

This is great news. It is really about the pesticides more than anything else. In my area, hawks are EVERYWHERE. I see at least 1 every 5 miles along the highway (farmland) watching for food. This was not true 20 years ago.

ryanmcbride 6y ago
Anecdotally I've been seeing a lot more birds of prey in my area over the last 10 years or so too. They're so cool to watch.
NittLion78 6y ago
You still see a lot of them being brought into wildlife rescue hospitals for lead poisoning from having eaten birdshot or in some other way ingesting fired ammunition. Seems to be the biggest issue in the Midwest for them, anyway. Either way, as a kid I remember being told to assume you'd never see one and they'd probably be extinct in my lifetime. Now I couldn't even tell you how many I've seen, from as far east as PA and north to AK.
- JoeAltmaier 6y ago
  I see reports about 'a dozen' etc suffering from lead ingestion. But no national statistics, just anecdotes. Considering that hunters shoot millions of lead bullets each year, it seems a small problem? It's suggested that birds eat guts from eviscerated animals that hunters leave behind. Perhaps a policy of burying or scattering the guts would solve the problem?
  - hkarthik 6y ago
    It's a much smaller scale problem than the pesticide issue. Here in Northern California, we're actually unable to use poisons on pest rodents like squirrels and rats since they often enter the ecosystem through raptors ingesting them. My friends with a lot of land were advised to get pellet guns and air rifles to deal with their squirrel problems. It's considered the lowest impact to the ecosystem and food chain.
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
  - giardini 6y ago
    Bird-lovers have pushed an anti-lead agenda (for hunting) for decades and have been highly successful. They continue to make inroads into banning use of lead entirely: "Bald eagles across the United States are dying from lead poisoning": https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/16/us/bald-eagles-dying-lead-poisoning-trnd/index.html https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/16/us/bald-eagles-dying-lead... "CALIFORNIA'S LEAD AMMO BAN IN EFFECT JULY 1[2019]": https://www.gohunt.com/read/news/californias-lead-ammo-ban-in-effect-july-first https://www.gohunt.com/read/news/californias-lead-ammo-ban-i... I think most of this is anti-gun lobbying. When people are reduced to stoning wild ducks and spearing deer then anti-gunners will ask Congress to ban sticks and stones.
    - devb 6y ago
      What a hyperbolic reply. We just want them to use steel shot. It's really not a big deal.
      - JoeAltmaier 6y ago
        ...says somebody who doesn't shoot. Its a big deal. Steel shot isn't just about being a different metal. Its about a quarter of the specific gravity. A quarter of the momentum. You shoot steel from the same barrel as lead, it's a quite different effect. Range, drop, spread are all different, and lesser.
        devb 6y ago
        That convenience is worth the terrible environmental impact to you?
        JoeAltmaier 6y ago
        The environmental impact has not been measured in a meaningful way. Its hyperbole so far. And its not convenience; its a necessity for many.
        devb 6y ago
uberdru 6y ago
This is true in my experience as well. I have not seen any discussion of it, but, man, there are a lot of hawks, harriers, and, yes, bald eagles where there used to be very few.
azinman2 6y ago
Well people also used to shoot and stuff the bald eagle specifically because it was the national symbol. I believe that's what drove down the population a long time ago.
- acdha 6y ago
  That was a factor but a bigger one was widespread use of DDT: https://www.fws.gov/midwest/eagle/history/index.html https://www.fws.gov/midwest/eagle/history/index.html
ogre_codes 6y ago
Pesticides are the more recent threat, but their numbers were hit pretty hard prior to DDT by hunting. Congress put a stop to that in the 40s. Farmers saw them as a threat to livestock.
- slowhand09 6y ago
  Hunting... Eagles existed in such large numbers and predated on small lifestock. For 36 years, Alaska paid a bounty of $2 per dead eagle. They had a confirmed 120,195 eagles which bounty was paid on. http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=baldeagle.printerfriendly http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=baldeagle.printerf...

ryanmcbride 6y ago

Anecdotally I've been seeing a lot more birds of prey in my area over the last 10 years or so too. They're so cool to watch.

NittLion78 6y ago

You still see a lot of them being brought into wildlife rescue hospitals for lead poisoning from having eaten birdshot or in some other way ingesting fired ammunition. Seems to be the biggest issue in the Midwest for them, anyway. Either way, as a kid I remember being told to assume you'd never see one and they'd probably be extinct in my lifetime. Now I couldn't even tell you how many I've seen, from as far east as PA and north to AK.

JoeAltmaier 6y ago
I see reports about 'a dozen' etc suffering from lead ingestion. But no national statistics, just anecdotes. Considering that hunters shoot millions of lead bullets each year, it seems a small problem? It's suggested that birds eat guts from eviscerated animals that hunters leave behind. Perhaps a policy of burying or scattering the guts would solve the problem?
- hkarthik 6y ago
  It's a much smaller scale problem than the pesticide issue. Here in Northern California, we're actually unable to use poisons on pest rodents like squirrels and rats since they often enter the ecosystem through raptors ingesting them. My friends with a lot of land were advised to get pellet guns and air rifles to deal with their squirrel problems. It's considered the lowest impact to the ecosystem and food chain.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
- giardini 6y ago
  Bird-lovers have pushed an anti-lead agenda (for hunting) for decades and have been highly successful. They continue to make inroads into banning use of lead entirely: "Bald eagles across the United States are dying from lead poisoning": https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/16/us/bald-eagles-dying-lead-poisoning-trnd/index.html https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/16/us/bald-eagles-dying-lead... "CALIFORNIA'S LEAD AMMO BAN IN EFFECT JULY 1[2019]": https://www.gohunt.com/read/news/californias-lead-ammo-ban-in-effect-july-first https://www.gohunt.com/read/news/californias-lead-ammo-ban-i... I think most of this is anti-gun lobbying. When people are reduced to stoning wild ducks and spearing deer then anti-gunners will ask Congress to ban sticks and stones.
  - devb 6y ago
    What a hyperbolic reply. We just want them to use steel shot. It's really not a big deal.
    - JoeAltmaier 6y ago
      ...says somebody who doesn't shoot. Its a big deal. Steel shot isn't just about being a different metal. Its about a quarter of the specific gravity. A quarter of the momentum. You shoot steel from the same barrel as lead, it's a quite different effect. Range, drop, spread are all different, and lesser.
      - devb 6y ago
        That convenience is worth the terrible environmental impact to you?
        JoeAltmaier 6y ago
        The environmental impact has not been measured in a meaningful way. Its hyperbole so far. And its not convenience; its a necessity for many.
        devb 6y ago

uberdru 6y ago

This is true in my experience as well. I have not seen any discussion of it, but, man, there are a lot of hawks, harriers, and, yes, bald eagles where there used to be very few.

azinman2 6y ago

Well people also used to shoot and stuff the bald eagle specifically because it was the national symbol. I believe that's what drove down the population a long time ago.

acdha 6y ago
That was a factor but a bigger one was widespread use of DDT: https://www.fws.gov/midwest/eagle/history/index.html https://www.fws.gov/midwest/eagle/history/index.html

ogre_codes 6y ago

Pesticides are the more recent threat, but their numbers were hit pretty hard prior to DDT by hunting. Congress put a stop to that in the 40s. Farmers saw them as a threat to livestock.

slowhand09 6y ago
Hunting... Eagles existed in such large numbers and predated on small lifestock. For 36 years, Alaska paid a bounty of $2 per dead eagle. They had a confirmed 120,195 eagles which bounty was paid on. http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=baldeagle.printerfriendly http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=baldeagle.printerf...