Posted: 4/3/2015 8:13:09 PM EDT
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While driving up 15 today, caught sight of a bald eagle over the road. This was just north of Orange. I didn't realize there were any in this part of the state. Either way, very cool to see. |
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Saw a news article today how there are now 3 pairs nesting in the DC area, also reports of multiple pairs around Quantico. The report went on to say how the eagles are making a come back in this area due to the cleaner waters. Bill One pair is right on the golf course at East Potomac Park. |
| They are all over the place along the Shenandoah River now. I see them every time I go down to my property. There is a old Sycamore there next to the river where they roost on sometimes. I've seen as may as three in that tree when daylight breaks when I deer hunt down there. |
| I see them along Rt 522 in Orange frequently in the last 10 yrs. They can been seen in the winter eating on dead deer, sometimes 2 or 3 of these magnificent buzzards at a time. There are 3 eagle nests in Richmond and a similar number in Lynchburg, so city life appeals too. They can show up anywhere in the Commonwealth these days. Eagles are good measure of biomagnifying heavy metals and synthetics in the food chain. Their feathers have been collected since 1888 and with GC analysis in the 70s we started finding DDT, PCBs, Chlordane...etc showing up at reproductive failure and lethal levels in the early 1940s. Their resurge is directly credited to minimizing these persistent bioaccumulating synthetic toxins. I wonder what will happen as these birds continue to populate and are vigorously protected. |
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Quoted: While driving up 15 today, caught sight of a bald eagle over the road. This was just north of Orange. I didn't realize there were any in this part of the state. Either way, very cool to see. |
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Saw a pair doing their mating flying dance one time. They kept flying a tight circle getting higher and higher. Eventually they got far enough away and high enough that I lost track.
Wife unit and I saw a pair over in Smithfield in the open field across from the Tractor Supply. They were staring at each other in the trees at the edge of the field. Either that, or they were debating on whether they could take our heads off and have them for lunch. Not sure. 
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I spotted three a few years back within a relatively short time period considering I had never seen one around Louisa in the 20 some years before that. Cool birds to see in person.  There are a lot more around than there used to be, must be an uptick in osprey populations... 
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I had the same reaction after seeing one for the first time a couple of years ago. I've lived here about 20 years, and never had any idea that there were bald eagles in Virginia. I saw a bird up on a high wire and thought, wow, if I didn't know better, I'd say that was a bald eagle. Silly rabbit...
There are several websites with some mapping of known nests: http://www.ccbbirds.org/maps/#eagles |
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A couple months back going down Dumfries Rd back towards Manassas I had a Bald Eagle fly across my windshield right where it crosses Rt 28 - there is that body of water on the right - it was the closest I've been to a Bald Eagle
Then maybe a month later saw one sitting on tree while driving home on Gum Springs Rd - not 10 minutes from my house - never seen them this close before I've seen lots when hunting in Alaska they are all over the place - pretty cool birds - they are big |