[ApS]

Originally Posted by beachgal

"...an American Bald Eagle came out of the treeline and started flying over my head...circling me- getting lower and lower!! I called to my husband who witnessed this, then the eagle flew off! I felt a VERY spiritual connection to the lake and Indians since then...!!"

You've reminded me of how the American Bald Eagle can inspire one's spirituality. I witnessed this encounter with two Bald Eagles and posted it to this forum seven years ago:

"I learned a lot about eagles one quiet sunny afternoon last weekend. It’s great that bald eagles have made a comeback.

"No chainsaws, no back-up alarms, no boats -- the first clue was a distant, high, shrill cry -- inflected upwards: Kweee-erk? Kweee-erk? Kweee-erk? Kweee-erk? Kweee-erk?

"From my dock, all I could see were two tiny dots in the sky, soaring in large circles -- perhaps a mile high. Checking the bird book wasn’t any help: "various squeaks and squeals". The same cries got louder, though, as one bird had dropped quickly, swaying in tight semi-circles, left and right, with his talons spread wide and down. 'Jinking' -- like a dive-bomber.

"It was a young bald eagle, and he 'pulled up' just as he reached the water and snagged a fish floating on the surface ¼-mile away. Unnoticed (by me, anyway), the second eagle had swooped down on the first, reaching down with his talons. The first eagle dropped the fish, flipped over on his back in flight, and returned the 'threat'.

"I’ve seen body-surfing seals, and otters body-surfing muddy banks repeatedly -- even tree swallows snatching feathers out of the air carrying them even higher, and releasing them for another tree swallow to repeat the 'fun'.

"'Fun' doesn’t happen in Nature very often.

"The 'fun' was probably a practice exercise: bald eagles will do this to ospreys to get a "free" fish. Some ospreys will put on a long burst of speed and dodging, but the result is always the same. A passing eagle -- minding his own business -- will get the same threat from large ospreys.

"These bald eagles were apparently healthy, large, well-fed 'juveniles' (no white markings yet) -- and they were clearly playing with their food. Though colored a very dark brown, both had a beautiful polished 'coat' of feathers which gleamed when the angle of the sun was right. This teasing went on for 15 minutes, with just one more attempt at the fish -- again 'unsuccessful'.

"Finally, they broke off the merriment, and headed in my direction at treetop-level. As they approached, it was clear that they were both panting -- like puppies after play!

"Although I had stayed very still, they saw me just as they reached my treeline, suddenly banked together above the treetops and, for a moment, the late afternoon sun flashed silver-gold across their broad backs and wings."