Friday, March 15, 2013

Fly Like An Eagle

So the other day, I came home from work to find this in the pine trees outside:


The picture is terrible, because I had to grab it through the back porch screen before they flew off. Still, who cares? There were TWO bald eagles sitting in My Florida Backyard!


Once I made it out into the backyard with the camera, they spooked pretty quickly and flew off. One landed a way off across the lake, and I was able to zoom in and grab a few more mediocre shots.


Could this be a mated pair, nesting in the area? We've seen bald eagles in our neighborhood before, and Florida does have one of the largest nesting bald eagle populations in the country (second only to Alaska and Chesapeake Bay, in fact).


But, note the dark "smudges" on this eagle's head and the edges of its tail. These are signs of an eagle that's not fully mature, which takes up to five years for this species. This is most likely a fourth-year eagle, and therefore is unlikely to have been part of a nesting pair.


It's really wonderful to see these representatives of America's healthy bald eagle population. There aren't a lot of conservation success stories out there, but this is certainly one of them. Having bald eagles in My Florida Backyard is a reminder that every little thing we do to help the environment can have a big impact, and it's always worth the effort.

2 comments:

  1. Wow!!! That is sooooo awesome!!! Congrats on the sighting, they are definitely something spectacular to see. I saw them for the first time up close on a kayaking trip in Alaska & was overwhelmed at how large and impressive they are...and here you had them in your backyard. How cool is that...hope you see them again!

    Best wishes,

    Sheri
    www.pompanobeachgardening.blogspot.com
    www.createdecorateandinnovate.blogspot.com

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  2. I love watching these eagles fly. I had seen an eagle catch a fish out of the pond near my husband work. The eagle was then chased by an osprey.

    It would be fascinating to see a mated pair nesting.

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