Bald Eagles

On Sunday afternoon we saw a rare sight. We were at F & E's for lunch and right there outside the windows, was a flock of American Bald Eagles. It is not unusual to see them in pairs or individually, but there were at least thirty congregated on the field and another 6 perched in the trees only a few yards from the house. At first they did not all appear to be the same kind of bird, but later I found out that the Bald Eagle only gets its white feathers after the fifth year.

These magnificent birds are very light, as was evidenced by the fact that the branches they were perched on hardly bent at all. They do look rather large and heavy, but weigh very little. They mate for life and have lived in captivity for up to fifty years. The particular location where they congregated today (I am writing this on Sunday March 15) is right next door to the Blue Heron reserve, the purpose of which is to protect the beautiful and graceful Great Blue Heron. Apparently, the Eagles love to raid the nests of the Herons just after their chicks are hatched. The irony of this is that they are both considered endangered species. Somebody should tell the Eagles.