Seven years ago, we discovered an eagle nest right behind our local Home Depot. “Right behind” defined as “you need good binoculars and you’d better hope the foliage isn’t interfering yet.” Over time, we spent many happy hours watching these eagles. What better way to get ready for Earth Day?! In case you wonder, Earth Day 2024 is on April 22nd.
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Table of contents
Why Would I Watch Eagles?
Do you ever look up at the sky and marvel at a soaring eagle? According to a recent study, over 45 million Americans participate in birdwatching as a hobby. And what better way to celebrate Earth Day than by watching them in their natural habitat? So grab your binoculars and let’s embark on an unforgettable journey with these iconic birds.
Well, Watching Eagles is Boring…
Soon after finding these, we found out that watching an eagle nest is boring. First, nothing happens. Then, more nothing happens. A merganser floats past. Still nothing happens. A cardinal sings loudly about their awesome accomplishments. But no eagles…
Honking loudly, three Canada geese fly past. A red squirrel checks us out. Yeah, still nothing is happening. Unlike watching birds in the Everglades, where we almost tripped over an alligator, now that was exciting!
Of course, we could have taken the easy way out and watched eagles on one of the many eagle cams, like this one at Big Bear Valley.
But we are the hardy birders who like to go out in nature to see our birds. Which led us to an interesting crocodile encounter in Costa Rica.
Until An Eagle Shows Up!
So we were bored until suddenly… an eagle was flying in! Yes, finally! The majestic bird filled the sky and uplifted our souls. We gasped and ooh-ed and ah-ed and grabbed our binoculars, our cameras and relished every second of meeting them.
Now it was all worth it! The boredom. The loud Canada geese. Even the whirling waxwings. We did see an eagle!!! All our patient coffee drinking was paying off!
The Naming of Our Eagles
Not only did we get to see eagles, but it didn’t take long before we started seeing eaglets! However hard it was to see them, however long we had to wait, it was just so super amazing to watch real eaglets. To watch the eagle parents feed them. We decided to name our eagles, since we spent so many hours stalking them.
Please meet Eleanor and Edward! They usually raise two eaglets almost every year.
Watching Eagles and Earth Day
One thing that irked us about our viewing spot is that it is right behind Home Depot and general entropy caused trash to blow over from their parking lot to the woods next to the river. A lot of trash.
Because of all this trash, we decided that every day should be Earth Day and we often clean up when we go watch our eagles.
Over time, we frequently cleaned up trash when we were bored. Sadly, every week there seemed to be a new supply of plastic, insulation material, glass, even a window! So we continue to clean up when we can. Doing so, we beautifying nature and we prevent plastics and other crap from entering the river.
Usually, we fill one or two big bags and bring them to the dump. Of course, I know it is just a small contribution, but it is part of our resolve to make the world a better place. Where better to start than in our own community. Our eagle watching place is like our adopted home, so we are happily doing this trash pickup. Think globally, act locally.
Earth Day Tips
What can you do in your local community to celebrate Earth Day every day? First, check out the Earth Day web site to find out what you can do in your own home and community to minimize plastic use and help wild life and birds. Secondly, here is a list with some more ideas:
- When you go on a hike or a run, carry a bag with you to collect trash. The Swedish even have a name for this: plogging. Read the Washington Post article ‘Plogging’ is the Swedish fitness craze for people who want to save the planet. It’s making its way to the U.S.
- Try to minimize or eliminate your use of plastic, since it keeps clogging up our oceans and poisoning our whales, dolphins and other marine animals. Find inspiration for a world without plastic on the Plastic Soup Foundation web site
- If you are a geocacher, attend a Cache In Trash Out event.
Trash pickup while bird watching is just one of many great opportunities to celebrate Earth Day.
Conclusion
Now tell us about yourself. Do you like bird watching, hopefully including eagles? Do you usually celebrate Earth Day? What about random trash pickups just for the heck of it? In addition, are you trying to minimize your use of plastics? Please let us know in the comments to inspire us and other readers.
Travel the World and Watch Birds
- Never Smile at a Crocodile! Beginner’s guide to Birding in the Everglades;
- Birds, Dolphins and Fish Poop: Discover Sian Ka’an, a UNESCO World Heritage Site;
- Invasive Alien Birds in Hawai’i: don’t get fooled by their beauty;
- Life time bucket list: follow Thousands of Snow Geese;
- Watch a heron take out a crocodile!
- The best birding in Costa Rica;
- Explore Isla Contoy in Calcun;
- When hiking is too hard: birds on the Manoa Falls Trail;
- Kennebunkport Maine has good birding hotspots;
- Famous bird painting for booklovers: Where is The Goldfinch Painting now? and how it doesn’t even LOOK like a goldfinch;
- Lots of incidental birding on an Alaska Cruise;
- Last but not least: why birding is the best way to socially distance;
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Comments
21 responses to “Get Ready for Earth Day 2024: Watch Eagles!”
Love your pictures. Wildlife watching is one of my favourite things to do. What camera do you use to capture your images? I’d love any recommendations on my next camera.
Thank you, Natasha!
I use a Nikon B500 which is a ‘point and shoot’ kind of camera, but it has a really great zoom which made me fall in love with it and makes it great for birding.
It is my go-to camera most of the time.
Like that your bird watching paid off!! We she them in Wilder along the Connecticut River, but never the offspring. And I’m happy you’re continuing on the journey of cleaning up trash that we participated in while geocaching. 🙂
Thank you, Mardrey! It is too bad that the leaves are too dense now, so we haven’t been able to see them since we came back from France. Oh well, we’ll find other birds to watch 🙂
How lovely to see an eagle in the wild! Carpe Diem indeed!
Thank you, Jo! Yes, we love every single moment of our eagle watching. Apart from when it is boring of course 🙂 Thank you for stopping by and commenting.
Great photos! And great idea to clean up the area while waiting and watching!
Thank you. Glad you enjoyed the pictures. And it seems silly NOT to clean up when we are there anyway. Like I said, watching eagles is boring ^^
I really enjoyed reading your post. We get a lot of hawks around our place but not eagles. It was be so exciting to see them, especially in their nest!
How wonderful to be around all the beautiful nature! You’ve got a lot of great shots here!
Yes, the Swedes take really good care of their nature. I just moved to the US from there and I can attest to that! :o)
A great post!
Trace x
Thank you, Tracy. I love hawks, I just never can tell what kind of hawk it is. I guess I don’t see enough of them 🙂
Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
How cool! I wouldn’t even know what to do if I came across an eagle randomly. Other than be in awe. To me, the power behind their meaning to the United States is moving to me.
Lovely pictures, too!
Yes, the whole symbolism of the eagle makes it even more special to see them in real life. Such power, such grace, it is awe inspiring! I hope you will get to see one in real life. When we were in British Columbia, especially Campbell River, we seemed to “trip” over them everywhere, but even in Victoria itself we saw them a few times.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
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Bird watching is one of the most peaceful and enjoyable things. I loveee that. These pictures are amazing and how lucky are you to experience that 😀 It is awesome.
Thank you, Inna. Yes, we are super lucky to live close to nature. These eagles are like right in our backyard (ok, a 10 minutes drive, but it is worth it for the sense of peace!)
Hope you will be able to go out bird watching even during these pandemic times!
Where I’m volunteering has set up a bird nest watching channel for all the staff as part of their wellness push. It’s a novel idea but yeah, boring until they hatch
What a fun idea for wellness. Especially since we all are so used to instant gratification in our crazy online world. Watching a nest cam teaches us a lot about patience and being in the moment.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
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