Are bald eagles a threat?

[chickengeorgeto]

One early Saturday winter morning I was driving down US 275 when ahead I saw something on the shoulder of the road. As I got closer it was a female red tail hawk eating a road killed raccoon while a small flock of crows waited not three feet away on their coon breakfast. Hunger is a great motivator.

 

[The Moonshiner]

A few years ago in one of the PNW states a tree that had a decades old bald eagles nest in it blew down. When the mess was cleaned up they found dozens of cat and dog collars there, a lot of them with the vaccination tag still attached.

Bald eagles are basically scavengers. That doesn't mean that they won't kill it just means that they would rather not go to the trouble. BTW, Red Tailed hawks are little more motivated to hunt for their vittles.

You're correct that they are scavengers and also like many other raptors collectors.
I've heard of nests containing baby rattles and swimsuit tops.
Should I advice everyone to keep their wives and babies in the house or conclude these collars are either just picked up or drug home on roadkill?

 

[salsss]

Ours are only a problem when the gigantic migration lake we live on is still frozen over when they migrate through. Otherwise, being a fisher eagle, they prefer fish. Although last week I saw one on a dead deer. Shocked the HELL out of me!

I live in the Adirondacks in Northern NY. Hunters put carcasses --roadkill or such-- out on the ice during the winter...we can see them eat as we drive by...!

 

[Granny Hatchet]

And if you have a small dog, watch out for those, too. Many years ago, I almost lost a little Shih Tzu to a bald eagle. Luckily, the eagle was young enough to be inexperienced and I was close enough to scream and run at it. Between us, we scared the "shih-tzu" out of my poor little dog, but at least it kept her from becoming lunch!

Just choked on my soup !

 

[micstrachan]

My mom’s friend had a hawk hanging around her chicken pen and she prayed and an eagle swooped down, and grabbed the hawk. She got it on video! But idk if the eagle started eating her chickens. Eagles will eat your birds! Put them under trees, plant trees and bushes in their enclosure, or build shelters with pallets or drag branches into the pen (if it’s not a moveable pen, building shelters is a good option) and lay them on top of each other like underbrush for them to hide in.

This is an astounding story! I'd love to see the video!

 

[WthrLady]

When we lived in Florida, the eagles and hawks would snatch small dogs all the time! To the big birds, small dogs are just stupid rabbits/squirrels that don't know to run and hide.