Johnkr that is very interesting information about the eagles hunting the herons. I had no idea, thanks! That might explain why I have not seen any around. We do live by a lot of natural water. Well that's one thing in favor of eagles. Carol I just googled scarecrow like you suggested and found the info. Thank you. I can see how that would be very effective. I can also see my Malamute playing in it! LOL It sounds like you have lived in some wonderful places. I would love to live by the sea some day. Sounds great just saying it. hehe Sandy I imagine your very correct about some critters liking the scarecrows. My silly Mal for one. LOL She loves to play "chase the hose" whenever I water. Nancyd I believe you are very correct about the cats safety. These are big birds. This was the closest one had come to the house. In the pictures you will see how a pergola is going to be a challenge to say the least. The pond runs 40ft by 20 with a bend at one end. Carol thanks for asking me to brag... I mean post pics. We only got the pond running last fall so I am still pretty excited about it. I also included a link to an older post on the Cottage garden forum if you are interested in some "extreme" ponding/gardening or as I like to think of it, "when I should have been shot on the spot for even thinking of it." This is one end of the pond. I had to take two shots to get the opposite end. I have just begun working on this new falls area. I still have to trim the foam and disquise the liner and tubing here. I put a planter pocket on top of the rock and planted trailing plants so that should help. This is the little pond, it is 100gal. Thank you all very much, LeSan Here is a link that might be useful: Ground Zero

The bald eagles greeted me for the start of the New Year. I walked past the parking area and up the driveway with the first dog and the screaming and cackling began. It was loud and they had to be close. They were--about 100 feet away and about 80 feet up a tree. An adult--with all its white plumage--and an immature bald eagle sitting next to each other. Another adult had flown off--probably after hearing me open the garage door. While walking the second dog, I heard a crack from a tree on the other side of the house. The other adult must have landed there and took flight again. While on that side of the house, I heard a white-throat singing its song. Then a red-belly called and finally an eagle again. The red-bellies are here all year; the white-throats are here for the Winter as are the eagles. Happy New Year.

Alisande, that must be a popular link. It said the server was busy when I tried it. I'll try again in awhile. That was a nice story, BLF. Happy2b, what a treat to see the birds so close. We have a nesting pair up very near where I board my horse. Driving up there a few months ago, there was some road kill on the side of the road. An eagle had landed right near it and was approaching it as I went by. I was so excited to see him!! They are majestic and starting to make a comeback here in Ohio.

The first time I can recall seeing a Bald Eagle in the wild was on a motorcycle ride, which turned out to be my last one in IL. It was a crisp November day and I was riding a nice curvy road paralleling the Rock River heading north. I had just navigated a tight curve when a large shadow passed me. I looked up into the sun and thought I saw the white tail feathers. I thought....nah, couldn't be....and then it turned its head towards me and there was that magnificent head. It soared over the river looking for fish, following my route for a little while. It was just the bird and me along the river. Down here, we have Reelfoot Lake in NW TN, which is a popular place for Bald Eagles to nest so I've seen quite a few more. But the day one was flying over the 5 acre pond in front of my house was memorable. I missed it flying but caught the crows chasing it. The Eagle had just caught a fish and the crows were trying to get it away from the Eagle. It had the fish in its talons, lifted up off the ground and flew a short distance to eat. I watched it dine while the crows pestered it.