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November 2009

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Sun, 29 Nov 2009 20:56:32 GMT
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November 29, 2009

Late this morning, around 11:45, My wife Jane, her farm hand Danelle and I were returning from a ride on horseback around the edges of our fields. I almost never pack binoculars on these jaunts, since they flop uncomfortably when my gelding Brutus lopes, which he almost invariably does without any real encouragement. It was such a beautiful morning for late November, and I'm leaving for California on business tomorrow until Dec. 17, so we thought we would take advantage of the good weather for some equestrian fun. 

Anyway, as we were ascending the hill to the highest spot on the farm I spotted a very large bird soaring toward us from the northeast, roughly parallel with the crest of Flint Ridge. I pointed it out to Jane and Danelle, and commented that it didn't look like a vulture, since it was holding its wings straight out, occasional giving a single flap. I said, "It may be an eagle." And as it neared it looked to be more and more so. Danelle commented that she had never seen an eagle in this part of the county (she lives nearby, in Gratiot.) The horse were acting nervous and full of energy as we stood there, probably wondering why we were stopping so close to the end of the ride. The bird soared down to an area we had departed 5 minutes earlier, probably 300 meters or so distant, and as it landed we could see the white head shining in the sun. It was exciting enough, but I sure wish I had been packing binoculars.

This is the second bald eagle I have seen here on our farm since we moved here from Columbus nine and a half years ago. The first was a juvenile I saw five years ago, while I was up a ladder, again without optics.

As soon as we got the horse untacked and brushed out I grabbed my binoculars and headed for the top of the hill, hoping that the eagle might be hanging around. It was probably twenty minutes after my initial sighting when I got into position. The local crows were still in the are where it had landed, and they were still raising quite a fuss, but I failed to relocate the bird.

There is an eagle nest that has been reported around Dillon Reservoir, parts of which are only a couple miles as the eagle flies, and there is the nest over near Black Hand Gorge, more like ten miles away. I look forward to seeing the next one at the farm: a very, very cool yard bird.

Bob Evans
Geologist, etc.
Hopewell Township, Muskingum County, along Flint Ridge
DeLorme 70 A1 (classic editions)

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