Twenty minutes ago I sat down to the computer and read Mr. McLemore's
comments about birding memos that get posted. I thought he presented an
excellent view, and I was sitting here thinking to write a note of
appreciation when my cell phone vibrated. It was my son saying he was on
the Union Springs Dam (our driveway), and a bald eagle was out there. The
rest of us loaded up in the van and drove out to see the bird-a sight that
we see much less frequently than I would have guessed for a mountain lake.
The majestic bird was sitting high in a dead snag of a pine at the far end
of the lake. Marlin told us that when he arrived (on a four-wheeler after
picking up eggs at the barn), the bird was sitting on the ground along the
shore. Though several hundred yards away, for whatever reason the bird
chose to leave the ground and fly to the high perch. To gain the altitude
he needed, the bird came across the lake and circled near Marlin just to
head back to the far end and land in the tree top.
With the sun setting in the west, shimmering water of the lake below, pine
and hardwood forest around the edges, an eagle flying close-by.it was a
beautiful close to a gorgeous day.
Kevin Shank
Union Springs
Rockingham County
