Ever seen a live eagle?

[Orchidflower]

Well, I saw about 30 of them today near the Mississippi River! They are absolutely gorgeous, and I surely am glad that is our national bird. Couldn't have picked a stronger looking symbol of America than the eagle, for sure.
Anyone else seen any eagles in their part of the country lately?

 

[Dave J]

I live in Missouri on the Mississippi River and we see them every winter. Great birds!

 

[Trek]

We had them where I used to live in Florida and out in Washington State. Beautiful birds.

 

[Gotadimple]

Yes, frequently in the Seattle area. Especially spring and summer near Lake Washington.

 

[Meadbh]

Yes, while paddling down the Yukon river. Magnificent haughty birds!

 

[Rustic23]

Saw one in the back yard about three weeks ago. There suppose to be two mated pairs on the lake. We took a cruise to Alaska about 6 years ago and saw lots of Eagles.

 

[Martha]

There are a couple of nesting pairs of bald eagles along the south shore of lake superior where my husband has a hunting shack. Their nests are huge! It is fun to watch them fish, diving down so fast into the water.

We used to have a cabin in northern Wisconsin and there are a number of eagles we would see on our drive back and forth. They often eat roadkill. I have seen them feasting, with their white fronts covered in blood. Vehicles hitting bald eagles that are slow to take off is an increasing problem.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

We have plenty of them around here. The local zoo, which is totally populated with sick/injured animals that are being rehabilitated and eventually returned to the wild, has an eagle in it right now. Gabe is pretty fascinated with the big birds. We've got a very big red tailed hawk that nests nearby and flies around the neighborhood.

What really took the cake was hearing some noise on the roof last summer and finding a half dozen wild turkeys walking around up there gobbling. Made the dogs absolutely nuts. Gabe watched them until eventually they flew off into a neighbors yard. Not the most graceful birds in the air.

We also have a lot of local wild peacocks. Not at all unusual to have a row of them sitting on a fence or the edge of someones roof.

 

[donheff]

I see them at my weekend house all the time (tidal Potomac).

 

[Orchidflower]

Local wild peacocks? I never even knew they were wild. I'm going to look them up on the net now....very cool.

 

[Walt34]

On a train ride last summer in West Virginia:

Potomac Eagle Scenic Railroad - Where Eagles Fly!

 

[mickeyd]

On a visit to Alaska last summer, I saw hundreds of them along the coast especially near Haines.

 

[Twinkle Toes]

We used to bass fish a lot at Sam Rayburn lake. We stopped at the lakeside store for bait and to chew the fat with the owner. Eagle citings there are rare...lots of other neat birds, but few eagles. I always ask the locals if there have been any unusual birds cited in the area. The owner laughed as he told us about a couple of fishermen who came in raving about the whiteheaded buzzards they saw while they were fishing. Unfortunately, we didn't see the eagles. We used to see them routinely in OK at Broken Bow...and they were everywhere in AK when we were there.

When we were passing through west TX in December, I noticed a large lump in a tree (I always keep an eye out for birds of prey along the highway). I nearly spilled my coffee as I realized that it was a male peacock sitting in the tree. I can't believe that it was wild, probably an escapee from a ranch/farm...but man, it was WEST TX, just west of Abilene.

 

[Lakedog]

There has been a nesting pair just across the lake from me for the last few years. The nest was in a large dead pine tree right on the lake shore the first few years, and last year they built a new nest in a large longleaf pine a few yards behind the old one. Most years I have only seen one chick but last year they had two that survived. It is cool to watch the adults catch fish to take back to the young ones.

 

[calmloki]

We have some in Oregon - one of the best sightings was one afternoon when we were 'splorin up in the hills in logging country. There was a bald hilltop and an eagle was swooping down and back up again - never saw what it was buzzing. Also have lots of hawks - a favorite is about the size of a big robin but has the face and attitude of a mega-tough. Pound and a half of pure confidence.
We're down in the California desert just next to the Joshua Tree Monument at her Mom's house. This morning we were favored with a visit by a bobcat - seems like an old and scrawny dude, not moving very fast. Very few critters this year - very dry - not many ground squirrels or bunnies or quail. He decided to hang out here - got to hear him do a warning growl, then, after a bit of chicken, he actually purred. Thinking he was in pretty bad shape to put up with us - mouth was kind of like a domestic cat's when they have tooth problems. Hope he makes it - if we get the dang card to read i'll post a pic. I know - don't feed the wild creatures.

 

[dessert]

Anyone else seen any eagles in their part of the country lately?

Yes. I have been fishing all my life and within the last 10 years the Eagles have been making a strong showing. (south central USA) Within 50 miles of home I know where 6 nests are and we always see the Eagles each time out. They have a distinctive call and I always hear them before I see them.
Prior to that time, I had never seen one in the wild. This is a definite statement of an improving environment. We should be proud of that.

 

[LRS]

We came across a bald eagle eating road kill on a remote stretch of road in southeastern Oregon. We drove up to it slowly-- its head was almost as high as the door handle on the car. That was one -huge- bird, and pissed off as well, because we disturbed its feeding. It didn't fly away, it just hopped off the road a little way and waited for us to leave so it could finish eating.

 

[Goonie]

We see them here by the Illinois River quite often. There are several dozen that nest in the area. Before ER'd I w*rked on the south bank of the river, and they were there everyday 'fishing', since the river never froze solid around our facility (we were putting about 3-4 million gallons of treated water in it every day). So when the rest of the river was frozen over, they came over our way. We could easily get within about 20 feet of them, while they were perched 10 or 15 feet up in some of the trees along the bank. They're awesome birds!!!

I drove down by the river today, and it's starting to freeze over, so I'll have to go down Monday or Tuesday and see if they're down there.

When we were at the Grand Canyon in '06, we saw one of the condors! HUGE!!! That was neat!

 

[UncleHoney]

Just today there was an article about the number of eagles in Ohio, several around us but I haven't seen one. We had a Coopers hawk in the back yard one morning last week.

The Columbus Dispatch : John Switzer commentary: Record eagle count shows Ohio rebound

 

[Goonie]

We had a Coopers hawk in the back yard one morning last week.

We have a LOT of redtail hawks around here. There are three that frequent our neighborhood, and help control the stray pet population.

 

[calmloki]

We have a LOT of redtail hawks around here. There are three that frequent our neighborhood, and help control the stray pet population.

Here's a pic of the visitor we had today - when he gets a bit more healthy i'm sure he'll be doing some small animal control. Rufus:

 

[TargaDave]

Never seen a wild bald eagle. I'll have to put that on my list of must do's. We do have Osprey nests scattered throughout our community including one right accross the canal from us. Quite a treat watching them fish right in the harbour and raising their young in the spring. They like to eat their catch right on top of the dock pilings. I'd luv to have a high power telephoto camera for recording them up close.

 

[Ronstar]

We see them here by the Illinois River quite often. There are several dozen that nest in the area.

Same here - see them below the dams hunting for fish, and in nearby nests

 

[ziggy29]

There is a nesting pair of bald eagles that returns to the area every winter, along a major highway about 10 miles east of town. There's a parking area along the side of the road there where people pull over, grab binoculars and cameras and observe.

 

[tightasadrum]

I was walking the dog last summer and notice two large birds circling very high in the sky above me. At the time I brushed it off as a couple of buzzards. I realized later that in the back of my mind something didn't quite fit. I should have been more aware since I'd seen scores of eagles in Alaska back in the mid-seventies soaring very high.

About thirty minutes later I was sitting on the back porch with DW. Suddenly her eyes got that big "surprised" look as she peered over by shoulder. I turned just in time to see a very large bird crossing low over the lake. It wasn't a buzzard or a hawk, and DW, who got a much better look at it, said the head was a lighter color than the dark brown body and wings. How could it have been an eagle though, since I'd never seen one in our part of GA, but it sure looked like a eagle.

At a New Years Eve party I asked a professor in the forestry department about it. He said he has recently seen both golden and bald eagles in our area. So now I'm convinced it was a golden eagle. Spectacular sighting. Haven't seen it again.