Wednesday as I passed the Langdon pavilion I spotted two large birds overhead. Jumped out of the car as fast as I could to grab a shot if possible. As the larger bird soared close enough to capture (albeit still pretty far away) I grabbed this image.
From the dappling brown spots on his/her belly I’m guessing this is still a pretty young Bald Eagle. And there’s a possibility this is the bird I nicknamed Baby Huey a couple of years ago, when he was fully developed but his white head and tail hadn’t appeared. (This doesn’t happen until they’re 3 1/2 to 4 years old, I’m told.
I called him Baby Huey because he was all alone soaring above the bike trail that summer when I first spotted him. And every other bird in the area seemed to want to chase him and pick on him. He was constantly escaping into a tall Pine to hide out. Gangs of gulls, a couple of Ospreys and even a Great Blue Heron all seemed determined to have at him.
So – I ask – Baby Huey, is that you?
The other bird stayed too high to photograph. But as far as I could tell it was certainly another Bald Eagle, and a young one, because it’s colors had not changed.
So … we shall see …
Jim McDade, Photographer 