Kip’s Comments - February 27, 2025

Feeling Their Oats as the Adults Watch

For a little more than an hour today I watched bald eagles along the Cedar River. Not too much time passed before I recognized what was happening.

Juvenile bald eagles appeared restless and full of energy. They would perch for a few minutes and then seemed to antagonize each other or the waterfowl behaving themselves on the river. The young eagles seemed to really enjoy themselves as they zipped past, quickly taking advantage of the wind.

Juvenile Bald Eagle - Image 945596

Juvenile Bald Eagle - Image 945986

To the contrary, the adult birds seemed to know not to waste energy if they didn’t have to. There were some flights over the waterfowl, but then the adult birds went to perch where they remained still for 15-20 minutes at a time. All the while, the adult birds were watching the ducks, possibly unsuspecting, below.

After watching several sequences of the young birds acting up in the wind, I was ready to leave the area. My truck was running and I was rolling forward at idle speed when a beautiful adult eagle flew in and landed about 25-yards away. I very quietly and slowly positioned my truck where I could study this magnificent bird. Eventually I did head out, but the eagle remained in the same spot. What a nice time!

Adult Bald Eagle - Close - Image 945879