Haines, AK

When you spend a few hours a day in the cold watching a couple of hundred bald eagles you manage to have a few bald eagle revelations. Here’s what Paul and I realized today:

1. Bald eagles look absolutely ridiculous when walking. Their legs are wide-set with fluffy feather pantaloons and they move their shoulders with each step. It’s an odd swagger.

2. Bald eagles are big on themselves. Sure, they’re beautiful, but it has gone to their heads. If an eagle lands it must loudly announce it’s presence. If it gets a fish from another eagle it must loudly announce it’s winnings. This is no small production: first they caw while looking forward, then they repeat with their heads to the sky. They often repeat this once or twice. They’re like little. feathered Leonardo DiCaprios yelling “I’m king of the world!” over and over.

3. Bald eagles are surprisingly lazy. They’ll stand on ice for 2 hours for the right moment to push another eagle off of a salmon, but they just can’t get up the motivation to get their own salmon even when surrounded with dozens of nearly dead spawning fish in a 10 foot radius.