James is learning the birds. Though he's yet to master the pronunciation of Colaptes auratus, he does happily repeat "magpie" whenever we see one on our walks, which is often. Yesterday, as we left the house on a cloudy afternoon to set out on a bicycling adventure, the sparrows and finches in the neighbor's trees sounded their chirpy alarms. I peered at the barren treetops, expecting to see a hawk, usually a Swainson's or red-tailed, which is not unusual but still exciting. I was startled to noticed the outline of a bird much too massive for a hawk; it was a bald eagle! While our family is certainly not known for our affinity to patriotic symbolism, this was still very exciting: these once near-extinct birds are majestic and regal (which adjectives, when linked to the word "bald," always make me happy). He or she was perched atop a towering cottonwood, peering down sternly and serenely (and, one might surmise, hungrily) at the neighborhood. I gave James a quick history lesson on DDT, raptor eyesight, and habitat range, which he mostly absorbed. The photo here is not great, but you can clearly see this is an adult Haliaeetus leucocephalus.
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