What a wonderful sight to see, Lucky you!

How cool is that!

How special! It’s thrilling to see birds of prey.

I saw some hawks yesterday when walking the dog in a field. I suspect they were checking him out.

It's common to see hawks, owls, and swallow-tailed kites here but not eagles. Sometimes the hawks sit on the pool lanai - looking for something to swoop down on.

They are a rather common sight in my area of WA state, largely due to appropriate habitat, lots of feeding opportunities and their formerly protected status. Living in a heavily wooded area and close to the beach, I hear them more than see them.......their call is very distinctive. And especially when there are chicks in the nest. They call for food constantly and they can be excessively noisy!!

At my previous residence which was beachfront property and with a large Doug fir growing on the beach cliff (a good roosting and scouting perch), they were very frequent visitors, as they came to feed from the beach. I recall one morning puttering around on my beach facing deck when one flew overhead, just a few feet above me!! WOW! You don't really get a sense of how large a bird they are until one flies overhead close enough to see clearly!! They are enormous with a huge 6' wingspan. It was like a big black cloud passing overhead!! Kind of awe inspiring!!

Wow! Someone in my neighborhood saw an eagle the other day. I’ve heard they are around but have never seen one! Hawks, yes, and we hear an owl (such a wonderful sound) I’ll be on the lookout now for an eagle!

A few years ago, I was leaving to go have Thanksgiving with friends, and as I was driving down my driveway, a bald eagle flew right across in front of me. It was wonderful to see, but I hoped he would keep going because the meth addict, who usually lived with his mother next door, would shoot anything.

The first time we came up here to look at property, saw one by the road in a very heavily forested area.

It is always a thrill to see one.

Lucky you!!!! Last year I saw several Snowy Owls that came into the State..now

the thing that's left is to see a Bald Eagle. They are so powerful and beautiful,

would love to see one in real life.

That timing was like a gift! and sharing unbeknownst with your DH makes it extra special. We occasionally get bald eagles flying overhead here. Hawks visit more closely and more often. The largest birds we see regularly are the vultures; I enjoy watching them soar across the valley.

That’s pretty cool.

They're just so breathtaking!

Lucky you!

What a thrill! I've only seen one up close in the wild, as it flew next to our car for a few seconds. I'll never forget that. Which state are you in, Ritaweeda?

Sjerin, we're in Central Florida. About 12 miles from the Gulf. There is a lot of wildlife here and all over Florida. When we first moved here I even saw a bobcat about 3 times. I haven't seen it in a long time but that could be because I'm just not in the right place at the right time. They are very elusive. Further West and North of here there are bear, I'm happy they aren't here where I'm at. We have regular sightings of fox, racoons, possums, armadillos, wild turkey, deer, and all sorts of birds including sandhill cranes. Of course there are gators but luckily none close to my house, at least not that I know of.

Very special time for you. I saw one once on a trip to New Mexico. Awesome.

That’s very special. I happened to look out my bedroom window Thursday morning and saw a red-tailed hawk looking for it’s Thanksgiving meal. Sat there quite a while. I think I scared it and it flew off nearby when I took something out to the trash a couple of days before that.

That's fun, Rita, I'm glad for your timing. They aren't uncommon here, coastal Washington. There is a pair that lives someplace near although I'm not sure just where. I see them, or hear them, overhead lots of days. The closest I've ever come to one was following a river bank on foot one Fall. I came around a sharp bend and surprised one feeding on a spawned salmon, just a few yards from me.

We drove to Vancouver on Thanksgiving. Trip I've made to Mom's hundreds of times and often count hawks along my way. Many redtailed hawks looking for their Thanksgiving breakfasts that morning, but I saw two adult eagles near a bridge about half way there. The nest can be seen from the freeway (many years now) when leaves have fallen and often the eagles someplace close in trees.

We had several families in the woods right behind our property in Oklahoma near the Lake. They would fly over our pool when we were having get togethers and pool parties. It was pretty cool. They would have babies and fly over training them. Many times they would dive straight down into the back pasture and come up with a snake dangling or a rat or rabbit. Amazing hunters.

Like Gardengal and Morz8, they are a common sight for me where I live. There is an Osprey nest in my neighborhood and every year for the last few years the Bald Eagles set up housekeeping in the nest before the Osprey return for the season. When the Osprey arrive there is a days long kerfuffle over who is going to get to use the nest. Oh, the battle rages (I can't see them in the nest but can hear all the fussing going on from both species and both are flying all around calling and scolding for days). Then peace resumes and the Osprey always win and keep the nest. I only know that's what's going on because the same thing happens on a friend's property, only the nest is in full view. Eagles come, set up house, Osprey return and evict the Bald Eagles. I never would have believed it.

Last year I went on a bird watching tour in the late fall on Hood Canal (a saltwater body of water near me). It was salmon spawning season and at the mouth of every little creek that was large enough for salmon to spawn, there were tens to dozens of Bald Eagles perched or flying waiting their turn at the salmon. Just this week a neighbor posted a pic of a fox carcass that the eagles had left and another neighbor posted that they got another fox yesterday :-(

My favorite Bald Eagle experience was driving down the I-5 freeway alongside the Columbia River. A Bald Eagle came flying up from the river right in front of my car. In its talons was a HUGE salmon - so heavy that the eagle couldn't get any lift to get above the freeway (at least not quickly). So it flew down the freeway about 10 feet off the ground, right in front of my car...I had to slow to keep from hitting it. I turned on my flashers to warn the cars approaching from behind me so they didn't hit it! Finally after about 1/2 of a mile, or maybe farther, it got enough lift to get up off the road and fly away with its dinner. Stunning.

In the nearly 20 years we've lived in this house, wild life has declined tremendously. Now, we rush to see even a small bird in our yard. We rarely see a deer, and they used to be quite common. There's no longer a well-trod deerpath along the creek beside our house. Sad.

There is a pair of bald eagles that has been nesting in the metropark nearest to my house for the past few years, and when they are nesting the park personnel sets up a scope for people to look at the nest (from a distance). I've also seen one when riding along the Kokosing Gap Trail. I used to see Golden eagles when I lived in CA.

I was surprised to see a buzzard in a neighbor's front yard last year! We have several hawks, Cooper's and Red-tails (owls too) in the neighborhood, but that was and still is the only buzzard I have seen.

I was driving onto the freeway one winter afternoon and was surprised to see a Northern Harrier sitting on the fence by the on ramp. That is the only one of those I've ever seen. Once I got home, I double checked in my reference book to be sure of the ID.

It's heartening to see so many that have had the thrill of seeing bald eagles! They have been making a comeback (at least in our area) for many years now. We have a nesting pair about an hour away from me and I had the great pleasure to see one of them land at the side of the road to check something out.

I've seen them many times in other places when on vacation and around Baltimore where I used to live, but they are not common in Ohio. At least not in southern Ohio.