Calm Waters & Bald Eagles

A walk this afternoon in the park didn't result in many signs of spring. I was disappointed, but was happy for warmer weather and sunshine! The park is closed yet for the winter, so it was quiet and calm. Ducks, geese,and cormorants were sitting on the waters, but rose in flocks to fly away as our family approached on foot. It's amazing how in tune they are to intruders. The park has a large grove of sycamore trees. Flying overhead and roosting on the sturdy branches of these trees were a group of bald eagles. They were a sight to behold! A group of about six or eight of them were sitting in pairs or circling the trees. How gracefully they glided over us, and their wing-span showed them to be large in size; wing span was about 6 1/2 feet.

The bald eagle is the national bird of the United States of America. It is the only eagle that is unique to North America. These birds are found in all parts of the USA, but about 70,000 (which is 1/2 of the bald eagle population) live in Alaska. Bald eagles especially thrive in the Pacific Northwest because of the salmon in the Pacific waters and in the waters of the Columbia and Snake Rivers. They also eat water-fowl and we saw signs of ducks who had met their demise at the talons of a bald eagle.

Although we have spotted other bald eagles near our home during the winter months this year, they are usually in pairs rather than in a large group like the eagles were today.

The majesty of the eagles are an awesome sight to behold! Although sighted each winter in our locale, seeing them always interests me a great deal. I didn't have the proper camera gear to get a photo of them today, but the memory stays fresh in my mind. Seeing them reminds me of a favorite verse I enjoy in scripture. It is:

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint.

Isa. 40:31