Junkyard Eagle

Our new friend drove us down to the dump to see the bald eagles that congregate there. Eagles are found in abundance in the Aleutians, and we have seen at least fifty of them in our three days here. In the late 20th century, the species was on the brink of extinction. After being classified as "endangered," then reclassified as "threatened," it now has a stable population and was entirely delisted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2007. The bald eagle has a wingspan of 72-96 inches, can reach speeds of 35-44 miles per hour, and has been recorded flying with a 15-pound mule deer fawn in its powerful talons. Around here, people keep their small pets near due to the threat of those talons--too bad, we'd love to see an eagle carrying a teacup poodle over the Alaskan tundra.