Sage-rat disposal

[earlmck]

After a long, hard day of thinning the sage rat population there can be a lot of carcasses littering the landscape. Towards the end of our day last Friday this fellow came along to help out with the disposal (you'll have to click on the pic to get it large enough to see he is gulping ratatouille) .

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And here was the levergun of choice and its ammo doing the damage -- 22 hornet on Borchardt action, cast bullets from the Lee 22 cal 6-cavity, 9.5 grains Lil'Gun:

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And one of the "rats" resting peacefully (I suspect this one was shot by friend Butch with his 22; the hornet doesn't normally leave them this intact):

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[Griff]

Couldn't you do it faster with a repeater?

[GunnyMack]

Boy do I miss grabbing a 22, the 17 rem and 22-250 and hitting a dog town! Had it covered from up close to 400. Man those were such fun days!
Good shooting?

[hfcable]

Couldn't you do it faster with a repeater?

I sure can miss 'em a lot faster with a repeater...and I often do !

gonna be thinning them down in Bozeman in a couple of weeks.

[Sixgun]

Ain't that somethin! I never knew eagles ate dead stuff......I've only seen two in my life and the second was two weeks ago. My buddy used his phone to take a picture through the lens of my spotting scope. We have been told to watch our little dogs as these eagles will snatch em up.----6

[3leggedturtle]

They will eat anything even rotten fish in ice or roadkill. Saw them eating out of dumpster in Prince Rupert! Was a harsh view of our national bird at first.

[Sixgun]

They will eat anything even rotten fish in ice or roadkill. Saw them eating out of dumpster in Prince Rupert! Was a harsh view of our national bird at first.

I have always been taught that the Bald Eagle is to be the most respected bird in the world.....and they eat dead stuff???? I thought only buzzards did that.

We have lots of chicken hawks around here and I have never seen them eat nothing but live stuff....but even that is nasty.---6

[Pisgah]

Bald eagles will hunt, but primarily eat carrion. This was the main reason Ben Franklin preferred the wild turkey to the eagle as the national symbol.

[765x53]

They will eat anything even rotten fish in ice or roadkill. Saw them eating out of dumpster in Prince Rupert! Was a harsh view of our national bird at first.

Yep, they're just like chickens.

[Sixgun]

Pisgah......thanks....learn something new everyday.-----6

[crs]

Sage rats is a nice name for prairie dogs.

When hunting pronghorns in New Mexico, many of the hunters will get their speed goat the first day and then go after Pdogs. I have seen a bald eagle in the dog town eating lunch there also.

[ollogger]

Nice photos Earl! Yep bald eagle is just a glorified buzzard



Brad

[FWiedner]

Bald eagles will hunt, but primarily eat carrion. This was the main reason Ben Franklin preferred the wild turkey to the eagle as the national symbol.

First thing I thought of.

[earlmck]

I didn't realize my eagle pic would stimulate such philosophical and zoological discussion . I myself think ol Baldy is a great symbol for the leaders we Americans seem to prefer: look most regal, will consume anything especially if it is a little rotten.

[hayabusa]

Need to find a way to send a few to D.C. to help get the rotten politicians out of the swamp. I did not know that they ate like Buzzards either.

hayabusa.

[samb]

Beautiful rifle Earl. Thank you for sharing the pictures.
Sam

[HawkCreek]

Shooting sage rats is an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon!


Up until 1940 there were bounties on eagles around the lower 48. I think the bounties continued up in Alaska up into the 1950's or so. I know several ranchers that are not at all fond of eagles when calving season comes around.

[Leverluver]

Until the plague came through, I had a lot of dogs that tore the heck out of my property. They were only on 1/3 acre but I would have to kill about 70 a year to have any chance of keeping them in check. I stuck the scoped 22 out the cracked door once and popped one and the very instant I pulled the trigger, I saw a flash of feathers in the scope. A hawk had the dog in the cross hairs also. The dog was dead the instant the bullet hit and the hawk arrived about .1 seconds later. The hawk needed it in its claws a few seconds and flew off. Even dead a .1 second was too old meat for the hawk.
As far as eagles go, I watched, over the course of a day, about 40 eagles (there is a canyon near, where they winter) kill a full grown and healthy antelope. They took turns harassing the antelope. On the way to work, the antelope would buck them off. Heading home from work, he could no longer buck them off and there was blood all down his sides. The next day, there was only a red stain in the snow. Other than admire their tenacity (and surprisingly their teamwork) I never though much of eagles since then.

[GunnyMack]

I had a visiting pair each spring/ fall when I lived in CO. I have seen them here in NJ, on the rivers and also in fields eating road kill deer, mostly in the winter. Last fall I got some cell phone pics on our fishing property. We have them at out place in Canada as well.
Yeah they will eat anything but they do what they have to to survive. But wouldn't YOU if it was a matter of survival?
Years ago I would pass a Vetrinarians office daily, seemed there was always a dead animal on the road, squirrel, possum,coon- what have you and there was always a few buzzards on scene. One morning there was a buzzard flattened on the road, not one of his buddies touched that carcass! The buzzards are THE MOST disgusting animals on the planet. They are chock full of bacteria that can and will cause lots of diseases and will not be consumed by other animals!
What's needed in The Swamp are more buzzards to clean out the old, sickly, disease riddled morons that We the People have allowed to burrow in like ticks!

[Griff]

...a buzzard flattened on the road, not one of his buddies touched that carcass!

Unlike politicians, who WILL feed off the carcasses of their fellows.

[Bill in Oregon]

Earl, if you will let me pet your Borchart there is a Tastee Treet burger in it for you.

[M. M. Wright]

Earl, Do your eagles come to the sound of shots? In the Oklahoma panhandle you only get a few shots and the eagles swoop in to devour your dead prairie dogs. We quit shooting then to avoid being charged with harassing the eagles. I'm here in NE Oklahoma and there lots of eagles here. I know where there are two nests and I have a roost on my property. Usually 4 to 6 on the roost each evening.

[marlinman93]

Sage rats is a nice name for prairie dogs.

No, we don't have Prairie Dogs here in Oregon. The sage rat is quite a bit smaller cousin.

Earl, we used to hunt a lot of sage rats around Long Creek father north from you. I sure miss doing it, but my buddy knew the rancher and when he moved to Arizona I lost access to the property. We saw mostly turkey vultures cleaning up the carcasses, but also bald eagles and hawks too coming in for an easy meal when we took a break.

Sixgun, we feed the bald eagles junk fish when we toss one back while fishing on the Columbia. Squaw fish often hit our lures or bait while fishing for bass or walleye. We thump them and toss them back, and as they're floating off the nesting bald eagles will swoop in right over our heads and grab them off the surface of the river.

[earlmck]

Earl, if you will let me pet your Borchart there is a Tastee Treet burger in it for you.

Well sure, Bill. But you'll need a trip across the mountain to find the rifle and the burger. And maybe we could find something to shoot also around these parts...

[3leggedturtle]

I didn't realize my eagle pic would stimulate such philosophical and zoological discussion . I myself think ol Baldy is a great symbol for the leaders we Americans seem to prefer: look most regal, will consume anything especially if it is a little rotten.

I got sidetracked with comments, did he circle awhile, perch and watch or did he just swoop down like he owned it? Would be impressive to see that happen. With the wealth of knowledge here, of course "it all" will get discussed. Never knew buzzards wouldn't scavenge their own! Todd/3leg

[marlinman93]

Never knew buzzards wouldn't scavenge their own! Todd/3leg

Most scavenger birds are protected, so it's hard to say if they'd eat their own. Never see any dead, but can't kill one to see if they would.

[jkbrea]

They will eat anything even rotten fish in ice or roadkill. Saw them eating out of dumpster in Prince Rupert! Was a harsh view of our national bird at first.

I have always been taught that the Bald Eagle is to be the most respected bird in the world.....and they eat dead stuff???? I thought only buzzards did that.

We have lots of chicken hawks around here and I have never seen them eat nothing but live stuff....but even that is nasty.---6

When I hunted the elk refuge in Wyoming a few years back, there were dozens of bald eagles feasting on the gut piles. I have a picture somewhere of about 16 in one tree. They were getting so fat that when they took off they would snap the tree branch they were on while pushing off to fly away.

[Sixgun]

Well guys.......thanks for having me lose respect of a bird I used to have respect for........I still do Beautiful birds. But......I did get quite an education.

Reading in one of Elmer Keith's books, he had little respect for eagles.

[hfcable]

we have a nesting pair of eagles right next to us at our place on the lake, out in the valley. dang bird picks off the baby wild ducks and tries to get the loon babies too.....we watch the drama right outside ....cant do anything about it, but sometimes feel like drop kicking them. I know they have to eat, but jeesh they just seem like big bullies. and they definitely are very often just scavenging.

[GunnyMack]

Yeah Six back in the good old days the birds of prey were looked down upon.
I knew a guy that raised field trial beagles. He had 20 acres fenced in, stocked it with rabbits for the dogs to run, every place he saw a hawk land he put a leg hold trap. If he only knew just how much trouble he would get into if caught!

The fact is Eagles have made a huge comeback, they were close to wiped out thanks to people. Yes they will eat anything but they are indeed a majestic creature, deserve their place in the ecosystem.

[earlmck]

I got sidetracked with comments, did he circle awhile, perch and watch or did he just swoop down like he owned it? Would be impressive to see that happen. With the wealth of knowledge here, of course "it all" will get discussed. Never knew buzzards wouldn't scavenge their own! Todd/3leg

He just swooped down like Boss Hogg, out about a hundred and a quarter yards where I'd had a very productive couple of mounds. Must have been a dozen carcasses around there and he stalked around and consumed what he wanted (probably the most "tenderized" ones). Here are a couple more pics of "King Rat" and then his takeoff...

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Fair number of ravens and magpies around also but they are too wily to present themselves as a standing shot to a fellow with a rifle. I'm sure they did well after we left.