“Eagle!” my content advisor (as he likes to go by) calls out. I look out the window in time to see the adult eagle swoop down to the river. Fumbling with my camera, I watch it land briefly on the rocks, pick something out of the river and continue flying upriver.
Keeping my eye on him I get my lens cap off, turn on the camera and get out the door onto our deck overlooking the Alsea River near the Oregon Coast. He landed! The “eagle has landed”; to borrow a phrase from my childhood.
I hear another eagle chirp every minute or so; like a juvenile keeping in close contact with a parent who has food. And, sure enough…here comes the kid with a hollow leg.
Then another adult flew in to greet the two!
It happened too quick to get a photo of all 3 eagles together. The camera doesn’t always win when I have to make a split-second choice between watching wildlife and photographing it. The two adults flew off together and the young one stayed on the rock. I couldn’t tell if the parent finished eating or left something for Junior.
Bald Eagles get their adult plumage in about 5 years. This one looks like it is beginning to get its white head feathers.
