The biggest tree on the island came crashing down in a mid-May windstorm. We had not yet opened the cabin for the summer season. Approaching by boat we could see that the profile of the island had changed, but the cause was not obvious. Walking the trails, we came upon brilliant sunlight, where only shadows and gloom had reigned for decades. The hole in the canopy was the measure of our loss.

Along with the tree top came the multi-ton eagle nest that had launched many generations of the big birds. Fascinated, we sorted through the chaos of the shattered nest. We found bones of fish, and bones that may have belonged to ducks. We found feathers, a few large ones and many small, downy ones. Most were badly decayed

We found three fishing lures.

A fishing lure does not easily find its way to the top of a hundred-foot pine! These lures represented fish that had been hooked but lost. The fish had broken the line, or otherwise escaped. When these fish died, the eagles saw their opportunity, and took a dangerous meal back to the nest. Hopefully, the young eagles had managed to avoid these unintentional ëpoison pillsí.

In a world as tightly connected as ours, every human activity has both intended and unintended consequences. Fishing lures in an eagle nest suggest we must be careful with the fish we catchóboth for the sake of the fish, if we are to release them, and for the sake of many other creatures like us, farther along the food chain. Eagles, mink, otters, loons, sea gullsónone of these have either the pliers or the dexterity to remove our hooks.

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Forest Lake Times
P.O. Box 218
880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
651-464-4601
Fax 651-464-4605