A Bald Eagle Sighting at Lake Bel-Air!!
We're sure that most have seen the Mute Swans. Usually we have 2 or 3. There are at least 7 on the lake. A couple of days ago Kathy & I watched a very large raptor soaring over our lakefront. We thought at first that it was an Osprey. When we looked at it with binoculars we realized it was not. It was much larger & did not have the telltale white face of an Osprey. Its head was dark & very different than an Osprey. He/She soared over the shore & water for a good while. It then swooped down & scooped up a very large fish (carp or catfish). It flew into a tree to eat. The underside had white flashing & the head definitely wasn't an Osprey. I checked my Peterson bird book & found that it probably was an immature Bald Eagle. I called the local Conservation Officer that I know & he verified by my description that it was an immature Bald Eagle. He told me that it takes 2-3 years for them to get their adult plumage. He also said that there has been more & more Bald Eagle sightings in the county this year. WOW!!!
Pat and Kathy Knight
Previous Wildlife Sightings
From Pat and Kathy Knight~~8/18/2016
This past Saturday we were gifted by two sightings of wildlife. First we had a Northern Water Snake crawl out of our rock seawall onto the grass. In its mouth was a baby catfish. He/she was not at all startled by us. It stopped several times & then crawled away. No one had their phones nor cameras to record it. Shortly afterward the Osprey made a "grand tour" of the lake. It didn't dive in, just soared right over our heads & then headed across the lake. We hadn't seen the snake since May & we haven't seen the Osprey all summer. "Life in Paradise"!!!