Day 54: The Eagle

Ever since I was young, the bald eagle has been my favorite animal. In fact, my sisters and I started a company called "The Bald Eagle Center" when we were youngsters. Of course The Bald Eagle Center wasn't just about bald eagles, we sold seeds from the local trees and childish paintings of our favorite Disney characters or creatures we had seen on animal planet. It was quite the business venture, but unfortunately it never really paid off. But that's a whole other story...

I think my obsession with bald eagles started when I was 3. I loved watching nature documentaries and my mom or dad would often find one for me to watch on TV. I watched one at that time on The Discovery Channel about bald eagles and I was hooked. I remember watching the eagles pick salmon out of the water in slow motion and fly away with them in their talons. They were so majestic and powerful. After watching that documentary, whenever I was outside playing I was ever on the lookout for one flying overhead.

Family trips to Washington State solidified my need for bald eagles in my life. They were everywhere and I was constantly watching for them as we traveled around the pacific northwest. I only saw a few, but they were enough to hold me over.

Whenever we went to the zoo, I knew exactly where I wanted to go first. I had to see what the bald eagles were up to. Growing up, our local zoo had a great program for rehabilitating and caring for injured birds of prey and it was always the highlight of my zoo visits. Upon returning there a few years ago, I got some really great shots with my camera of the eagles. They're still some of my favorite photos.