I was sitting at my office desk looking out at the Swinging Bridge in Riverside when I saw a large bird fly by.  My first reaction was that it was probably a great blue heron.  It was big, it was dark and had an enormous wingspan.  However, as I followed the bird’s flight path, I saw very quickly that it wasn’t a great blue heron.  It was a barrel shaped bird that had the biggest wingspan I’d ever seen.  When I caught a glimpse of the bird’s white head and tail, I knew I was looking at something rather amazing: a bald eagle.

As the bird flew out of view behind the Riverside town hall, I quickly grabbed my jacket and my camera and sprinted out the door.  I didn’t know where the bird might have gone, but I was hoping that it landed somewhere nearby.  As I looked out at the swan pond, just west of the library, I saw something that looked like a small bear sitting near the top of one of the tallest trees there.  My luck was good; the eagle had landed.  I fired off a couple of quick shots of that and continued my sprint to get closer.  I got almost underneath the tree where the eagle was perched and managed to get this shot before it took off again.

Then, things got a little crazy…  Click for the next bald eagle photo.