A Chance Meeting with an Eagle

 

I was surprised this eagle was so relaxed, and tolerated my presence for so long, even though I was across a broad stream from him. It seemed a great calm had come over him, and me. The bald eagle has been a spiritual symbol for native people in North America for centuries, including those here in Pennsylvania. Eagle feathers held great power for them, as just seeing eagles does today and in the past.

The bald eagle has stood as the national emblem of the United States since 1782, its majestic appearance reflecting the spirit of its democracy. The eagle was in decline here in Pennsylvania and across the country for the first two-thirds of the 20^th Century, due mainly to the use of the pesticide DDT, but it was also hunted without consideration for its important place in the environment. I never saw one here in the east until about ten years ago.

Maybe this bird felt relaxed in what it considered a safe setting.

This bald eagle, like all the others, is a powerful predator, but it is also a scavenger. It is a thief, too. It will steal from smaller birds like ospreys. I’ve mostly seen it hunting on local lakes and streams. When I first caught sight of this one, it was looking downward at the water; I thought it was about to dive and snag a fish, as I’ve seen these birds do so many times before. But it didn’t. It simply posed for me as I snapped away the with Sony DSC HX400V and attempted to take video. I suppose it had already grabbed its breakfast and was digesting the delicious fish and saw no need to move on. Eagles can’t swim but have to dive and then fly along the surface and snag an unwary victim in the shallows. It was clear this bird had eaten. He was staying put.

Bald eagles are widespread now, frequenting coasts, rivers, mountains, swamps across the continent, but are almost always seen near water.

I took it as a sign of the bald eagles’ general recovery that it tolerated me taking photographs of it for such a lengthy period of time. It wasn’t going to stay with me forever, though, and eventually it took off. It had better things to do, I’m sure. I didn’t. I’ll let this photograph commemorate his prosperous morning and my good luck.