I don't have a picture, but crossing the Lake Street Bridge back into Minneapolis today, two bald eagles were enjoying the gorge, & there at eye level was one right by the railing employing its feathers to my visual delight! Hurray for the species willing to share "our" environment!

Great story Ourcrazymodern! I once sat in the ski lodge, at Lake Louise, and watched a pair of ravens play chase outside the window, not more than two feet away from me. They kept jumping from one railing to another (on the balcony just outside the window). One would move, then the other would follow...over and over again. It was hilarious and awesome at the same time. They were so big!

the other day I saw an Eagle swoop down on a seagull,pounded him right out of mid air into a lake.the Eagle just kept drowning the seagull......couple minutes worth,then he pulls the gull out and drops him on the beach and started plucking away at the feathers......it looked like a pillow fight with all the white feathers flying around.

pretty damn cool to get to see mother nature in action.

Are you sure it was an eagle and not a hawk?

100% positive........:thumbsup:

Those eagles are still haunting the gorge...I think they might have a nest, but I haven't found it yet. Still & all, right in town!

There are a few eagles I know of around here, too. A pair on an island in the Delaware River right off Philly, and quite a few down toward, and in Delaware Bay.

North and west of here is Hawk Mountain:

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g2...k_mountain.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g2...wkmountain.png
A Bird's Eye View of Hawk Mountain
I used Google Earth to get a feel for what the landscape might look like to a raptor as it migrates south along the Kittatinny Ridge of Pennsylvania on it's 6,000 to 7,000 mile journey to Mexico, Central or South America.

The Kittatinny Ridge (also known as Blue Mountain) is a long mountain ridge that winds 185 miles through eastern and central Pennsylvania, to the Maryland line. The Ridge is a globally-significant fall migration flyway used annually by tens of thousands of raptors and vultures and millions of songbirds, and has been designated by Audubon Pennsylvania, as the largest of the state’s “Important Bird Areas.”

The dashed red lines show the general path I observed the raptors following. This graphic isn't intended to be accurate; I was just fooling around. The altitude setting (991 m) is about three times as high as most raptors were actually flying (my guess) and the terrain relief is exaggerated considerably to enhance the perspective.
by Benjamin Hayes


North Lookout, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary
A world-famous location for observing bird migration, this is an almost 180-degree panoramic view east, down the axis of the anticlinal ridge along which tens of thousands of raptors migrate each year on their journey to south for the winter.
Taken around 8:30 am, when the sun broke through the clouds. A cold front had passed through the night before. Winds were from the northwest at around 20 mph, coming off the Great Lakes and carrying with them clouds and snow showers.
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g2...oramicview.jpg

Dlish posted this on found on the net.
Thought you guys might enjoy it here too:

thank you ms. birdbrain ...and I mean that as an utmost compliment for one who can soar high above the plain and view the world from an elevated perspective that most humans only dream of

two shots by Carl Sheely

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g2...CarlSheely.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g2...CarlSheely.jpg

^excellent!^