Hi Jim, I just read your post so haven't read the bird flu article yet. Last summer I had a bald eagle nesting fairly close to hour house. It was really awsome to watch. Journey North is a great site. I report all my spring sitings over there. You might also want to relate your encounter to Feathered Friends. Penny

I have had the honor of seeing the mating practice once about 25 years ago. It amazes me that they know just when to break apart to avoid hitting the ground

Hey, guys! I am in WNY also, not far from your areas! I am in southern-most Erie County at its border with Cattaraugus County, near Routes 62 & 39 Intersection. I have been seeing more & more Bald Eagles fly over my rural property, for about the past 6 or 7 years. I can tell you where to go to easily see nesting Bald Eagles, that is not terribly far from your area... Go to Countryside Gravel (Gernatt Gravel), Lake Flavia, in South Dayton, NY. on Route 62. Take Route 62 right thru Hamburg, Water Valley, Eden, North Collins, Collins, Gowanda, Dayton, South Dayton. Lake Flavia is a reclaimed former gravel pit owned by Gernatt Gravel. The are was turned into a large pond/small lake, landscaped & managed area, stocked with fish, and birdwatching is allowed there along the shoreline. On Route 62, go past Gernatt Gravel's current operation in South Dayton (you will see huge mounds of sand and lots of heavy equipment), until you come to public parking lot about 1/4 mile down the road on the left (there is a sign at the road) and you will see a horse & buggy hitching post for use by the Amish neighbors. Just past the parking lot, you will see a large white barn and silo, also on the left. In the parking lot you will see a sign posted with a few rules for use of the area. From this parking lot, park about in the middle and look straight across the water. You will see one large, modern style house that belongs to Gernatt's. Look to the right along the treeline until you see a group of trees taht look lighter colored against a backdrop of darker trees. About halfway between the house and lighter trees, look towards the tops of the trees until you see a dark spot near the top in one of the trees. That is the Bald Eagle's nest.They have used this same nest for several years. And they are still at Countryside Gravel - Lake Flavia now (NOV 13). I was up there twice this week and saw both adult Bald Eagles both times. This year the Eagle pair successfully fledged 2 young (of course, the younger Eagles will be all brown until about their 3rd year, when they get the Bald Eagles' white head and tail feathers that are so familiar to us. Along the same treeline several yards further to the right, you will see a nesting platform built up into one of the trees. This is a nesting platform constructed specifically for these nesting Bald Eagles. Gernatt Gravel would like to expand their current quarry area but the Dept of Fish & Wildlife will not let them move the current Eagle's nest. So they are attempting to lure the Bale Eagles into choosing to use this new nesting platform built just for them, out of the way of their gravel operations. It will be interesting to see how this all works out! This has been an active week at Countryside Gravel - Lake Flavia... A rarity was spotted there this week, a HUDSONIAN GODWIT, a shorebird, seen by several birders. Just today, there was a possible sighting of a Ross's Goose there. And yesterday a sighting of a Red-throated Grebe and a lone Greater Yellowlegs was flushed out by a birder, another shorebird. I was there myself on NOV 9, 10, and 12 and saw the following... many Canada Geese, 14 blue phase Snow Geese (watched them fly in and land on the water), 2 adult Bald Eagles, American Coot, Ring-Necked ducks, Ruddy ducks, Common Loon, Greater Scaup, Common Mergansers, Hooded Mergansers, Pied-billed Grebe, Horned Grebe, Mallards, Redhead ducks, Bufflehead ducks, ass't Gulls. This area is often windy & cold so dress appropriately and bring gloves & hat. Also Red-tailed hawks, a Whitetail buck deer, Crows Gail R (WNY)

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.