Here in the beautifully forested panhandle of Idaho, we are fortunate to host a great variety of wildlife. It is common to see whitetail deer, elk and moose here, as well as foxes, raccoons, and cute little red squirrels. Less often you might catch a glimpse of a bear or two, or even a cougar, and hear coyotes howling on some nights. Idaho is also home to an abundance of waterfowl and other birds, including several species of raptors. My favorite of them all, by far, is the majestic bald eagle, symbol of our national pride.
Eagles, as birds of prey, are at the top of the food chain, and are considered to be an indicator species. In other words, a thriving population of eagles is a reliable gauge of the general health of the ecosystem. So whenever I see the unmistakeable white head of an adult bald eagle, I just have to smile to myself because I understand that our population of eagles means the environment is healthy enough to support them, providing everything they need to live and breed.
A few years back, a friend told me about a nesting pair of eagles on Lake Pend Oreille's Fisherman's Island. My family and I boated out to try our luck photographing them, taking extra care not to cause the birds any undue disturbance. Quietly edging up to the shoreline near the island, it wasn't long before we found that our friend was absolutely correct: The parent birds had successfully fledged THREE beautiful young eaglets, which is considered a rare occurrence, and they were just beginning to learn how to fend for themselves. We watched for hours as they swooped and dove steeply down to the water, sometimes rewarded with a wriggling fish in their talons, which they carried to a perch and eagerly consumed. It was quite an amazing spectacle, seeing them soaring so effortlessly on the currents of the wind, and a day I will always remember.
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