Bald Eagle sighting

[Mike Cruz]

That must have been a nice time... no people...

Yeah, I know they are around. They nest pretty much all up and down the Potomac River. I am about 5 or 6 miles as the crow flies (or in this case, the eagle) from the Potomac. So, they don't often venture overhead. It was just really cool to have one perch right next to me at my own property. THEN to perch in an old oak RIGHT next to our house. I feel like the house got blessed somehow...

[Mike Cruz]

Funny what we take for granted. We have Great Blue Herrons like robbins around here. Okay, not that many, but in the summer months it is not uncommon to see 5 or more a day. They fish in our creeks. So when I walk the dogs, I scare them up from time to time. Man those things are big and will scare you something awful if you are daydreaming... We have one that flies by every evening... we call him 5 o'clock charlie.

[Charlie Reals]

I have had them take Kokanee salmon at the back of the boat. The Eagles and Osprey both have a ball during Koke season. Some have pics of the battle.

[Rod Torgeson]

Here are a couple of pictures I took about a year ago by the Klickitat river. I have counted as many as 11 at one time. So needless to say I take my camera with me when I go to town.

Rod<---in Appleton, WA

[Clarence Miller]

Up until about 14 years ago I never had seen a bald eagle in real life. They are becoming more common every year. They have to compete with a large population of red tail hawks in my area at least but there is a huge population of pheasants, cotton tail rabbits and the like to support them. Things have changes a lot in the past decade. We now have weekly cougar sightings as well. I remember as a boy seeing really large cat tracks along the river and suspecting something bigger than a bobcat was passing through but it seems that the population has grown enough for sightings. I have even heard rumors of timber wolf sightings. It makes sense. When tillable farmland was being put into the federal set aside program a dramatic amount of land became available for the re-habitation of certain species.
I love nature and love to camp. However, I am grateful for the fact that there are no prairie grizzlies roaming the area any more as they were as reported in the journals of Lewis and Clark. I would like to see a change in some of IA's hunting statutes. Particularly the ban on carrying a pistol while bow hunting. I realize that a cougar is not likely to attack a person but at dusk when I am field dressing my deer and have the scent of blood on me will the big cat try to determine the difference? also if I climb into my tree stand and find one of them on an adjoining branch I really don't want to fend off a frightened wild cat with a pointy stick from my quiver.
Chances are if one were to even have a .22 with bird shot (mini shot gun shells to shoot pigeons in a barn w/o putting holes in the roof) would be enough to deter it w/o causing mortal damage.
But back to the eagles, I was fortunate enough to be about 30 yards away from one diving down to about 12 foot off the ground and pick out a bob white quail. At first I was confused by the big black thing falling from the sky but when it opened it's wings to make the catch and carry it off, what a site.
Well that's way more than I intended to write but oh well.

[Mike Cruz]

Great shots, Rod. Thanks for sharing. The one on the left is close enough to what I saw, sans the kill in talons, that I might tell everyone that that is my photo! Hehe, just kidding. Again, thanks for posting.

[Chris Kennedy]

I have seen them three times in my life. Once, at an airport they were transporting some captive ones. Also, our local living museum has one (previously injured), and you can see it up close. I have seen one in the wild as well. There is a car ferry near here, and in the late afternoon in the summer months, there is a bald eagle that regularly perches on a channel marker as the ferry goes by. It was impressive.

Chris

[George Sanders]

There is an article in the paper today about the remarkable recovery bald eagles have made. I used to live on the Mississippi river in Buffaloe Iowa. I would sit at the picture window in my apartment and watch them fish in the power plant warm water discharge across the river.
Last fall I watched them as they rode the thermals on their migration. It isn't just eagles that have made a comeback. We have an abundance of red tailed hawks, all kinds of owls, falcons and kestrels in my area now.
I think by federal law, all birds of prey are protected. In Illinois herons are protected. My brother could only watch as one cleaned out his coi pond.

[Michael Weber]

The Little Rock zoo has two bald eagles that have permanent wing damage that occurred in the wild. Thus, they cannot fly out of the very nice habitat the zoo has for them. Saw then this week end. Magnificent looking but its very sad to watch them hop around.

[Barry Nelson]

We have the Wedge Tailed Eagle here in Aussie, its as big as the Bald Eagle ,my wife and I were driving across Western Australia,and one flew down from a tree and across the highway,what a magnificent creature, looked like a jet strike fighter in full flight,I never forgot that image,wings fully spread, talons hanging down,etc .Nature is a marvellous thing.

[john brady]

Hi Mike,

I live in South Central PA in a gated community on a lake. We're priviledged to have a nesting pair as residence.

I've also seen them frequently while fishing on the susquehanna river. Lower (around the "flats") and more north in an area below one of the dams (I'm told their's a no fishing zone around one of the island where they nest).

John

[Mike Cruz]

I guess no one told the eagles about the no fishing zone, huh?

[Mike Cruz]

Thanks, everyone for chiming in. It is nice to see that these beauties are commonplace in many areas accross the U.S.. Thanks for sharing your stories and sightings, and pics.

It seems as though the eagle I spotted the other week may be taking up residence nearby... I saw him/her again yesterday, soaring overhead, along the mountainside. I live in a valley between two ridges, one of which is South Mountain, where the Appalachian trail stretches. I am nested up against the one ridge with South Mountain (actually a long stretch of a ridge) as the view out my front door in the distance... and this creature looks like he chose our ridge...

[John A langley]

Guys this is awesome - hope there is some daylight left in CA so you can see it.

http://www.sportsmansparadiseonline...._Cam_P0SF.html

[Charlie Reals]

Thank you for that John, awesome. It is 7:28 here and plenty of daylight.
Charlie