Bald Eagles Soar on Independence Day

Happy 4th of July to all my USA readers. Hope it’s great day for all of you, stuffed with family, friends, grilling, and fireworks. Lots of fireworks. But I’ll get to that later.  For everyone else, Happy Wednesday – hope it’s a good one For this blog entry, what better photo than something related to Independence Day. The Bald Eagle, a symbol of our nation. I’m here in the Pacific Northwest, enjoying the nice chilly summer weather. We’ve had our share of rain and chill, but today is shaping up brilliantly, perfect for our nation’s birthday!

This beautiful bald eagle (actually, there were two of them) accompanied me on my early morning run along the beach. I happen to be up on Whidbey Island, which is about 40 minutes north of Seattle, plus a short ferry ride. This part of the world is some of the most beautiful around. Truly gorgeous, with water, sand, forests, views of mountains, and incredible wildlife. OMG these birds are gorgeous! And massive! They were out for their morning breakfast. You should see their footprints in the sand; big and deep. I found the remnants of their breakfast, which looked to be the head and tail of a halibut. A couple years ago I watched 2 young bald eagles (before they had matured and so they were all brown) playing and flying here at Useless bay, and I’m assuming these are the same birds, grown up. Or maybe one and its mate? I’m no expert, so what do I know, except they are incredible to watch. This bird let me get fairl close, but he/she kept a constant eye on me and when I crossed that line of comfort, he flew another 20 feet away.