Re: BALD EAGLE! yikes!

[Kelly Clowers <kelly.clowers@gmail.com>]

On Thu, Sep 3, 2009 at 08:57, B tH<soylentgreenistrex@yahoo.com> wrote:
> I live within a quarter-mile of what once was the largest entirely-excavated 
> man-made lake in the world. ÂI am sure by now Lake Paul Wallace has been 
> surpassed - it's still a fair-sized lake.
>
> So anyway about an hour ago I was outside checking on the canteloupes when 
> this huge shadow goes over me - it's either aliens landing or a hawk, I think 
> - lots of red-tailed hawks and a few ospreys here. ÂBut I look up and it is a 
> BALD EAGLE - white head, white tail, and it was low enough to distinguish the 
> eye. ÂHe/she made a few passes completely ignoring me (pretty sure it knew it 
> could take me out at any time) and then the little light bulb goes on in my 
> head - GET THE CAMERA, STUPID!
> I got back out and it was cruising much higher in the air - managed to get 
> two pics with very little color on the bird. Â This is only the second time 
> I've seen one in the wild - the other instance was in the late Seventies at 
> NASA in Florida when one took off out of a tree looking like a small Cesna 
> aircraft. ÂHuge birds.
>
> I went searching for some info on them on the web and came across two 
> interesting statements - one that they may be as old as 28 million years as a 
> genus and that they are the second largest eagle in N.A. Â When I was growing 
> up textbooks listed the bald eagle as number one, but now the roles of it and 
> the golden eagle are reversed? ÂThey find a huge golden eagle specimen in the 
> recent past?

I grew up in MT and live in WA, and just going off the many eagles I
have seen, I would say the Golden Eagle is just plain bigger than the
Bald Eagle on average (and that is what my bird books say as well).

Hmmm, after looking at the meaning of Haliaeetus leucocephalus, I feel
White-Headed Sea Eagle would be a more impressive name than Bald
Eagle.

Thanks to Ian for that PDF. Very interesting.


Cheers,
Kelly Clowers