This weekend a friend and I decided to drive up the coast to get some fresh air… a Get out of Dodge, if you will. North of Camden we stopped where I like to stop for Spot. Here a small river reaches the Penobscot Bay.
Tide was in. And a pair of loons was cruising in the tidal water.
Normally by now they have moved to an inland lake to have their babies.
Their shape is unmistakable!
We watched them for a while,
and I heard my first “cry of the loon”!
As we turned to leave we saw something moving in the water outside of the inner pool.
It was brown, and moving with a lot of thrashing-
I thought it was an injured seal.
As it neared the shore it was obvious it was not a seal,
but it was impossible to discern what it really was.
Suddenly we realized there was a bald eagle in a tree nearby!
We realized it was a bird.
We thought it was injured, and had been thrashing in an effort to get to shore.
We were wrong.
It was a juvenile bald eagle!
And, it had a fish.
The other bald eagle just sat, as the one in the water came onshore.
We suddenly realized there was a third bald eagle in another tree
above and left of the first we saw.
This bald eagle shows the white splotches of an immature bird.
The one on the ground is pure brown, indicating he is much younger.
Suddenly both of the birds in the trees took off.
One sees how their plumage is great camouflage.
They quickly disappeared among the trees.
Their wingspan is impressive!
The eagle on the ground concentrated on his meal.
Three crows appeared, drawn by smell.
He did not wish to share.
When we left he was vigorously defending his meal!
This episode was so unexpected-
a serendipitous event of two people, who enjoy nature,
being in the right place at the right time.
If you come to Maine, take the time to enjoy our out of doors!
You don’t know what you will see around the corner!