Bald Eagle Sighting at Lake Mathews – Jan 20, 2016

Driving by Lake Mathews today, my wife yelled, “There they are!”

She was referring to the bald eagles we have heard about that nest at Lake Mathews during the winter. Here is the iPhone picture I snapped when we pulled over:

We immediately turned around and headed home to grab our cameras. When we returned, we were fortunate that this beautiful bald eagle was still hanging around enjoying a meal:

Just as I was walking along the roadway to try a different vantage point, the eagle flew away…

Fortunately, the eagle landed on the Cajalco side of the dam. Although we couldn’t get close enough to get great pictures, we still managed to get a few that were decent enough to post:

Seeing our national emblem out in the wild was such a great experience.

“The Congress finds as follows: (1) The bald eagle was designated as the national emblem of the United States on June 20, 1782, by our country’s Founding Fathers at the Second Continental Congress. – From the American Bald Eagle Recovery and National Emblem Commemorative Coin Act

A few facts from The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service:

Distinguished by a white head and white tail feathers, bald eagles are powerful, brown birds that may weigh 14 pounds and have a wingspan of 8 feet. Male eagles are smaller, weighing as much as 10 pounds and have a wingspan of 6 feet. […]

Eagles mate for life, choosing the tops of large trees to build nests, which they typically use and enlarge each year. Nests may reach 10 feet across and weigh a half ton. They may also have one or more alternate nests within their breeding territory. […]

Bald Eagles may live 15 to 25 years in the wild, longer in captivity.