Where Eagles Fly

Have you ever seen an eagle fairly up close? It is breath-taking. They are regal, majestic birds. I see their sleek power, and I understand the forefathers' wisdom in choosing them as our national emblem.

When I came home from church this afternoon, this young eagle was perched in the top of my walnut tree in the backyard. (Their heads and tails don't turn white, and their beaks don't turn yellow until they are about five years old.)


This young fella wasn't very happy about me edging closer and closer to him. To be honest, I was a little nervous as well. I pulled my hood over my head and hoped he wouldn't get too upset with me. (Look at that beak and those claws... I am sure you wouldn't want an eagle mad at you if you were standing under him as well!) Unfortunately, I still had my camera on my indoor settings, but wild animals won't wait for me to adjust settings, so I just shot and hoped I would get at least one or two good shots.

When he had enough of me admiring him, he spread those magnificent wings (which barely fit in my viewfinder)...


and flew away towards the pasture behind us...

where a fully mature bald eagle was soaring over the ponds, probably looking for food,

and another mature eagle was soaring even higher above above a flock of geese.


If I had to make a list of all the things I love the best about the Ozarks, I have to say that having eagles playing in my backyard ranks right up there at the top of the list.

Here kitty, kitty!

I have mentioned before that the Ozarks is home to bald eagles. I have been dying to take pictures of them, but my lenses never really reach them well, and I haven't had time to just go park near one of the canyons they really like to hang out in.

But this guy has been visiting our "neighborhood" this week. I have seen him on the Mennonites' property, and flying overhead. Today he roosted in the empty tree in the pasture across the street and sat there for hours staring in our direction. We thought it was cool. I wish I had a better lens for these kinds of shots, and my camera is still giving me a hard time, but despite those issues we managed to get a couple of not-as-blurry shots. Isn't he just regally impressive? He really was a massive bird, too. He ruffled his feathers everytime we got too close to the fenceline in an effort to try to get a little closer for a shot, and since my eagle-battle skills are non-existant, I chose to keep a respective distance.

So why was he staring so stealthily in our direction? Well, I don't think the fact that we cleaned up our yard on Saturday had much to do with it. I don't think he was nearly as impressed with us as we were with him. And I don't think he was admiring the view across our property. No, I think he found a point of intense interest in the form of 5 furry felines. Midnight was the only one who stayed put in his own tree. The others came slinking out of their trees and pots, and have since disappeared to the safety of the garage.

Stay safe, Midnight, cause if he comes after you I will be running for cover.