Eagles in Cherry Creek State Park

We have been enjoying mild and beautiful weather, for the most part, this winter, and one afternoon my husband and a co-worker decided to spend a lunch hour together walking in the park a short distance from where they work, Cherry Creek State Park, in Aurora, Colorado.  The park consists of a natural prairie environment with an 880-acre reservoir at its center. The park has 12 miles of paved roads and 35 miles of multi-use trails open to runners, cyclists, and horseback riders. The Cherry Creek Marina and Yacht club offer to moor for powerboats, sailboats, and paddleboats. The park also offers facilities for camping, radio-controlled aircraft, picnicking, fishing, cross country skiing, and bird watching.  As you can see in the center of the photo collage above, my husband spied two eagles sitting in a tree in the park!  Luckily he had brought a camera with him and captured the close-ups of an adult eagle and a juvenile eagle (lower left)

The Bald Eagle has been the national bird of the United States since 1782.  It really isn't bald but has a white feathered head when mature. They can weigh between 7 to 14 pounds and have a 7-foot wingspan.

It is always a thrill to see one!

For their first 3 to 5 years juvenile Bald Eagles are a mixture of chocolate brown with varying amounts of white over the body, tail, and underwings.

Not only do they have "eagle eyes" that see well, but apparently also very good hearing, as this eagle turned to look at my husband taking his photo from quite a distance!  He was also on his lunch break and kept flying down to the reservoir looking for a fish to eat. Thankfully, the camera was off while he dined!

My husband and I took a trip to Breckenridge, Colorado, last weekend and enjoyed its breathtaking winter scenery and some wonderful experiences--more about that in my next post!