Well, given the auspicious occasion, what other animal did you expect me to share today? As you all well know, bald eagles are my favorite, bar none.

I have long had a fascination with them, probably because growing up they were such a rarity. When I served this Great Nation in the United States Navy, the eagle took on additional meaning as I proudly wore an eagle on my sleeve for the majority of my service and indeed, the regal creature is a prominent part of the service’s flag, for good reason.

Our national emblem embodies the spirit of the country – indomitable, proud, majestic, beautiful and fierce. So many adjectives that describe the bald eagle fit for our nation. I have taken tens of thousands of pictures of them and each and every opportunity is something special, something I cherish.

While I have been observing this pair of bald eagles for six years now, it is pretty are that I have been able to get pics of the two of them perched together. It seems like at least one is always on the move or they perch just a bit too far away to get a nice shot of them together.

On this recent day though, the pair spent some quality time at the nest, enjoying the mild spring morning and keeping an eye on their not-so-little eaglet. They gave me some nice, typical, regal bald eagle type shots but I liked this one when the pair looked at each other in a bit of a “moment.”

Have a fantastic weekend!

Keeping it simple as we head into the weekend with this beautiful lady.

I’ve shot thousands (tens of thousands?) of pictures of her over the years and each time is just a thrill. Taken a few weeks ago, she put on an impressive showcase of beauty and grace.

The wind was blowing a bit and she used it to her advantage, going head on into it and lazily flapping her wings as she ascended. In doing so, she gave me a great series of images including this one as she banked toward the sun, lighting up her eye brilliantly. Have a great weekend!

With his not-so-little eaglet getting close to fledging, keeping it fed is a big priority for the adult bald eagles at this nest. Last Saturday, the male departed for a little while and when he returned, he had a nice sized carp in its talons.

Here, he is seen circling before landing in the nest and depositing the meal. The voracious young one was most appreciative, eating quite a bit of it and then mom jumped in for some leftovers.

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to visit them again for a few weeks and I am sure by then the juvenile will have fledged. This is the sixth season I have spent watching these incredible creatures at this nest and I count myself fortunate to do so.

No, not MY family. THIS family. 😉 

I’ve been watching this nest for six years and have never been able to get a good family portrait, all in one shot. Yesterday morning they obliged.

Action was pretty light in the few hours I was with them. One flyby and a fish delivery from dad but that was about it. Thankfully though both adults spent their time at the nest, something they don’t usually do together.

The little one is getting quite big and was prepping leaving the nest by leaping from one side to the other and flapping its wings. I would guess it is probably a week or two from fledging.

A very fun image for not only Freedom Friday but also appropriate for Endangered Species Day.

Taken this past weekend, the parents were hanging out in a tree a ways south of their home. After a while, mama decided it was time to spread her wings and ended up giving me an absolutely awesome set of 100+ images of her launch and flyby, this being one of them. For his part, dad was more interested in watch something on the ground. 😉 

While the bald eagle is no longer technically an endangered species, it spent decades on the list and now, is truly a conservation success story. From the time Europeans arrived in North America, the species was hurt by ignorance that they presented a threat to livestock resulting in their killing.

Loss of habitat hurt populations further and then the pesticide DDT began seeing widespread usage in the 1940s. DDT softened eagle egg shells causing extraordinary losses and the population plummeted further. In 1963, at the low point, there were merely 417 breeding pairs of eagles left in the lower 48 states.

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and Endangered Species Act all were crucial in helping our national emblem’s recovery. DDT was banned in 1972 and since then the bald eagle has made an extraordinary comeback, being removed from the endangered species list in 2007.

Today, it is estimated there are more than 71,000 breeding pairs! Humans were nearly responsible for the extinction of this majestic bird but, thankfully, we realized the folly of our ways and for that I am thankful.

I checked on my favorite bald eagle nest on Sunday and had some good news and bad news.

The bad news is that, sadly, the second eaglet that looked so underdeveloped a couple of weeks ago appears to have passed away. I saw no sign of it in the three hours I was there. The good news, however, is that the other eaglet looks quite healthy and big!

Mom hung out for a while but otherwise it was left to fend for itself, eating and testing its wings. I suspect it will fledge earlier than any other I have seen in the six years of watching these parents.

Having just checked on her two eaglets, this beautiful bald eagle leaps off the edge of the nest into the air. Taken on my most recent visit with this family, I really love the pose here. With her wings forward, grabbing at the air and showcasing a nice look at those talons, you get a nice sense of action from this incredible raptor. Have a fantastic Freedom Friday!

As I mentioned earlier this week, I had a great visit with my favorite wildlife family last weekend. I got glimpses of the two eaglets and the parents were quite active.

Early on, mom brought in a fish for the young ones. Later, not to be outdone, dad brought one too and his was a far more substantial meal. That’s a good-sized fish!

You will note, however, that some bites have been taken out of the middle of the fish and he is wearing the bloody evidence on his beak. Clearly he is smart enough to realize he isn’t likely to get much to eat once the kiddos get a hold of it. 😀

I finally had the opportunity to go in and check on my local bald eagles and their eaglets, my first visit in a few weeks. The parents were both around and provided some cool shots which I will share in the future but for now, let’s focus on the little ones.

The images are heavily cropped and kind of grainy due to the distance I maintain to ensure not to disturb the eagles. You will notice quite a stark difference in their development with one looking far larger than the other. This is somewhat troubling and does have me a bit concerned.

Bald eagle eggs typically hatch three days apart. While that three-day head start doesn’t seem like much, it can make a big difference as these little guys grow fast. The older eaglets take advantage with their bigger size and bully their siblings for the majority of the food and parents’ attention. This results in differences in their development as the younger one just gets further and further behind.

These little ones are about six weeks old and while the older one looks that age, the younger one looks closer to being at 3 to 4 weeks old in development. I worry the littler one is struggling and fear it has a tough road ahead to survive.

On the plus side, during my observation the older eaglet fed itself while I did see dad feed the little one so it does appear to be getting some help. It’ll be a couple more weeks before I can check on them again but in the meantime I will be pulling for the little one!