I’ve had some great neighbors in campgrounds. Two stand out as among the most memorable. One former neighbor is a great couple that I met last year on the Oregon coast. They sold their home in Georgia, left their jobs, and took their 9-year old twins out of school for a year — all to homeschool the kids so that they could travel the country visiting our National Park system. Another women is from North Carolina, and even after meeting only one time a few years ago in Capitol Reef National Park we still chat regularly on social media. The special nature of travel is as much about the people we meet as the places we see.
But the neighbors that I had in Bear Lake, Utah are pretty special too.
As I mentioned, they were bald. A family of bald EAGLES!!! Two adults and two fledglings in the nest. See the story in photos below.
This was what I saw the Friday early evening that I arrived at my campsite. Note the parent on the limb and the large nest at the bottom right of the photo.When I say “neighbors”, I am serious.The nest was directly above my campsite! I was beside myself with excitement.So patient.I have never before seen a bald eagle in the wild. And to be able to look right out and see this in the tree right above me….so exciting.When I woke up in the morning, I could peek up at them from my bed!!There were two fledglings. The first few days of my 12-day stay, they stayed in the nest and just peeked out at the world below.Once in awhile the eagle kiddos would come up and sit on the edge of the nest.Parent looking out. That is truly an “eagle eye”.One of the parents taking off — for dinner, maybe.Notice the size of the kiddo — I think the one is standing on the back edge of the nest here.“I’ll just wiggle my wings a little for Eileen’s picture”.There was a lot of wing-flapping by the kiddos in the nest. Like they were getting used to the wing-things attached to them.On a few occasions, both parents would perch by the nest.They mate for life and return to the same nest year after year.This is the only time I observed an adult actually sitting inside the nest.The adult looks so cute and non-majestic in there :-)Most of the time, the adult would scan the horizon. In this case, he is looking straight down at the nest. I think I heard the following conversation: Eagle Parent: You two are too quiet down there. What are you doing? Eagle Kiddos: N,n,n,nothing.The two parents perched and one of the kiddos getting a tiny bit of lift from its wings.This parent eagle looks like he/she has something important to say.The eagle kiddos are starting to locate themselves higher up in the nest.About five days after my arrival, the eagle kiddos started venturing out onto a limb. I didn’t ever see them get there, and I saw lots of instances of wing-flapping while remaining perched on the limb. I don’t know if they walked out onto the limb and did the dry wing-flapping, or actually flew up to it.The practice of trying out this flying thing on branches is aptly named, “branching”.Magnificent neighbors. Interestingly, there was no area near the nest cordoned-off, and the eagles seemed oblivious to the comings and goings in the campground.This was taken my last day in the campground (the 12th day after meeting these neighbors). Both parents and both kiddos out on the branch. It was hard to leave them, and I’ve thought more than once since I left there a week ago if the kiddos are actually flying yet.The campground was also quite nice — but oh, the neighbors!!! Damn, they were special.
I believe that I stumbled into a once in a lifetime experience.
Sharing is caring!
14 comments
OH MY GOODNESS!!! What a blessed experience you had!!! Soooo happy for you!!! I’d probably have to try to make it back there again around the same time in years to come. What did your fur babies think of them?
We see eagles regularly around here…especially around the Mississippi River and Trail of Tears State Park or down around Duck Creek, but not that up close and personal. Truely a memorable life blessing!!!
Tom and I saw beautiful bald eagles in Alaska, but to be able to see the same family for 12 days is, truly, a lifetime experience! We saw lots of them while we rafted thru an eagle preserve, and they are majestic. To be able to watch the adults and kids together, and see changes over several days must have been mesmerizing. Thank you for such an awesome sharing!
Sally, it was really quite amazing. A few of my fellow campers come at that same time in order to see the nesting event. But as I said in my post, I just stumbled on it. Lucky me!
This is Veronica and Phil, your other neighbors at the campground. We’re happy to have met you, and I’m very glad you stayed a little longer to enjoy the eagle family. It’s definitely a worthwhile experience :-).
Wow, Eileen! We see them from afar or maybe at the roadside from time to time here in Missouri, but your experience is sooo cool! You must be among very few Americans who get such a treat in their lifetime. Thank you for sharing your photos, they are fantastic!
Hi Eileen! By far, this is my favorite posting of yours. The photos you shared are quite stunning, and I truly enjoyed your comments. I agree, you had a once in a lifetime experience, thank you for sharing it with your friends. Hugs and kisses to Trax and Sally.
OH MY GOODNESS!!! What a blessed experience you had!!! Soooo happy for you!!! I’d probably have to try to make it back there again around the same time in years to come. What did your fur babies think of them?
We see eagles regularly around here…especially around the Mississippi River and Trail of Tears State Park or down around Duck Creek, but not that up close and personal. Truely a memorable life blessing!!!
Stay safe in your travels!!!
Diane, Sally and Trax had zero awareness of the eagles :-)
This was awesome — thanks for sharing all this detail and vicariously letting me out of my office!
It was so incredibly cool.
Tom and I saw beautiful bald eagles in Alaska, but to be able to see the same family for 12 days is, truly, a lifetime experience! We saw lots of them while we rafted thru an eagle preserve, and they are majestic. To be able to watch the adults and kids together, and see changes over several days must have been mesmerizing. Thank you for such an awesome sharing!
Laurie, I was originally scheduled to stay in the campground for four nights. But I kept extending it to get to see more of this little life event.
Awesome photos, I have been waiting with bated breath since your text😊
Sally, it was really quite amazing. A few of my fellow campers come at that same time in order to see the nesting event. But as I said in my post, I just stumbled on it. Lucky me!
Hi Eileen,
This is Veronica and Phil, your other neighbors at the campground. We’re happy to have met you, and I’m very glad you stayed a little longer to enjoy the eagle family. It’s definitely a worthwhile experience :-).
Thank you for commenting! I was wishing I had your contact info to send you pictures. Thank you again for checking in!
Wow, Eileen! We see them from afar or maybe at the roadside from time to time here in Missouri, but your experience is sooo cool! You must be among very few Americans who get such a treat in their lifetime. Thank you for sharing your photos, they are fantastic!
Hi Eileen! By far, this is my favorite posting of yours. The photos you shared are quite stunning, and I truly enjoyed your comments. I agree, you had a once in a lifetime experience, thank you for sharing it with your friends. Hugs and kisses to Trax and Sally.
Wow what a great experience and nice photos.
Late to the party for me, but wow. Magnificent shots, singular experience! Have fun!