via MSNBC week in pics.
A worker from Osterman Fish in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, walks out with a load of fish bits for a group of hungry eagles. Aleutian Island is about 800 miles southwest of Anchorage. You can only get there by plane or boat.
The photographer noted how big they are (look at the wingspan of the one, compared to the guy with the bin) and said you don't want to get to aggressive towards them; they are quite bold. If not given scraps, the eagles will walk right into the plant and grab food. So the plant decided it was a better idea just to give them scraps.
The American Bald Eagle has made a remarkable recovery over the last few years, and it will probably go off the endangered species list in the next few years. Starting from an estimated 500,000 birds in the early 1700s, their numbers declined to less than 10,000 nesting pairs by the 1950s and to less than 500 pairs by the early 1960s. The main cause: DDT. The pesticide caused the birds' eggshells to weaken during incubation.
But since the banning of DDT, and private and public conservation efforts, the bird has returned. There are now considered to be 20,000 birds in the continental US (with 6,000 nesting pairs), and over 35,000 birds in Alaska. A good 1,000 of whom must be fed by this plant!
So, all together now.... E! A! G! L! E! S! EAGLES!!!!!