Bald eagles are grabbing a lot of attention—and some lunch—as bird watchers flock to Quidi Vidi Lake.
The display has some asking questions about baiting birds to get a good picture, but it’s not of great concern to local seabird biologist Dr. Bill Montevecchi. He says eagles are scavengers and tossing capelin or chicken at them is no different in many respects as putting out a bird feeder to attract birds to your backyard.
Montevecchi says part of the reason why bald eagle numbers are so high in places like Placentia Bay for instance is that the big birds are attracted to the waste byproducts of the fishing and aquaculture industries.
(Photo Credit: Alick Tsui)
That said, Montevecchi says the growing eagle population is becoming a problem in some areas.
In Witless Bay, the turrs on Green Island are being disturbed by eagles, and are not breeding like they once did. Those turrs are moving to Gull Island and Grey Island and the eagles are disturbing them there too.
“We’re seeing huge impacts from eagles,” says Montevecchi.
