South Central Power Company member Stephen Ledbetter captured this image of a soaring eagle.
An attitude is subtly changing in Ohio concerning a certain species of large, charismatic wildlife. In 1969, the Buckeye State had just four pairs of nesting bald eagles remaining, a struggling population on the verge of extirpation due to the indiscriminate use of the chemical DDT. But once that chemical was banned, the birds made a steady, startling comeback, and nesting pairs of bald eagles in the state now number near 1,000. But is it possible to have too much of a good thing, even in the case of our national symbol, the bald eagle? The following two “Ask Chip” questions this month show two sides of a growing debate.
Melanie Tallmadge, Firelands Electric Cooperative
Q. Hi Chip: We are having a problem with a bald eagle fishing our three-quarter-acre pond. We spent a lot of money to restock it this spring. How do we get the eagle to stay away?
A. Hi, Melanie: I checked with the Ohio Division of Wildlife concerning your question before replying to you, and they told me what I already suspected, that there is not much you can legally do to deter the eagle(s). Being our nation’s symbol, the bald eagle is highly protected by law. My only suggestion would be that when you see an eagle near your pond perched in a tree you attempt to scare it away. Simply walking toward or beneath the tree that the bird is perched in should do it, as eagles are naturally wary of people. Do that often enough and the bird(s) may get the idea that your pond is not the place to feed.
Bald eagles are mainly fish eaters, so by stocking your pond you’ve inadvertently created an eagle food source. But here’s an added thought: did you stock your pond with adult fish or fingerlings? If you stocked adult fish, that made it easier for the eagles to feed. In the future, I would suggest stocking your pond with fingerlings. Lastly, many people would enjoy having eagles attracted to their pond. If you can view the situation from that perspective, it might help.
Q. Response from Melanie: Our pair of eagles are stubborn. They just sit high in the trees watching us. Not even our dogs scare them. The only thing that seems to work is clapping our hands.
The birds are gorgeous. I love to watch them soaring outside our living room windows, but we like to fish, too. Anyway, we are going to make a couple of scarecrows — maybe that will work.
Stephen Ledbetter, South Central Power Company
Q. I enjoy wildlife and wildlife photography; here’s a photo of a bald eagle in flight that I thought other cooperative members would enjoy.
A. A great shot, Stephen, thanks for sending.
