Garbage Pigeons

Day 110: East coast friends think I'm exaggerating when I say that Bald Eagles are almost as common as sparrows in the Pacific Northwest. Well, here's the proof. There were at least thirty perched in the trees west of the Kapowsin landfill this morning with another thirty circling like vultures overhead, adults and juveniles in roughly equivalent numbers. It's a popular hangout for them, and long ago inspired me to start referring to them as "garbage pigeons." I doubt that my readers need to be assured that I love birds in general, but there are a few species which incur my disdain: Band-Tailed Pigeons, Starlings, and yes, Bald Eagles. I've often puzzled as to why the species was chosen as the National Bird, but I begin to see the logic as I follow current social and political trends. After all, this less-than-majestic denizen of the dump chooses to feed on garbage rather than putting out the effort to find something better, more substantive. Yes, Baldies are a good icon for much of today's American public.