My husband came home a little while ago and told me a bald eagle was perched near Pembroke Drive. I grabbed my camera, and it was still there when we went back.



I took this picture from the bridge on Pembroke over Steamboat Creek. At a time like this, I realize how limited my simple little camera is. I regret not being able to get a closer view, but at least you can see the creek, which the eagle was apparently watching for food.

In a quick visit to Wikipedia, I learned that bald eagles are "found near large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply and old-growth trees for nesting." As you can see, our neighborhood doesn't exactly fit that description (the creek flows into the Truckee River, but I wouldn't call that open water, either), so maybe that's why I've never seen a bald eagle here before.

Phil and I weren't the only ones who were interested. A steady of stream of vehicles stopped so people could get out for a closer look and take pictures. The eagle didn't seem at all concerned by the attention; it didn't move except to swivel its head back and forth.

In case you haven't been keeping up, the bald eagle was reclassified from "Endangered" to just "Threatened" in 1995, and it was completely removed from the "Endangered and Threatened" list in 2007. Maybe this will become a common sight!