America's Bald Eagle

We had an awesome experience one morning recently.  A pair of American Bald Eagle's (our National Bird) took up residence in our yard for nearly an entire day! What an amazing and humbling sight.  They certainly did attract a lot of attention as neighbors came with their cameras to take pictures.  Of course, I had the long 300mm lens on my camera and was outside snapping photos right along with them. 

 

Psalm 103

¹ Praise the Lord, my soul;
    all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
² Praise the Lord, my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits—
³ who forgives all your sins
    and heals all your diseases,
⁴ who redeems your life from the pit
    and crowns you with love and compassion,
⁵ who satisfies your desires with good things
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. 


After a bit of research, it appears what we had was an adult and a juvenile sharing the carcass of an opossum.  The young one was much more skittish and would fly off when approached.  The majestic, white-headed adult was calm and watchful, taking in me and my camera with little concern.  

I believe these are both part of the sub-category of Southern Bald Eagles, for those south of the 40 degree north latitude.  It is estimated that there are fewer than 70,000 bald eagles in the world.  More than half of those live in Alaska and another 20,000 in British Columbia due to the readily available food source of salmon.  When I read these statistics, I feel even more blessed that these two decided to make our home their home - even for just a day. 

 
And he will lift you up on eagle's wings,
Bear you on the breath of dawn,
Make you to shine like the sun,
And hold you in the palm of his hand. 

(Song by M. Joncas) 

 







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