Our Member, Nancy, spends part of the year in Costa Rica and part in the USA. Her photos and stories are inspiring from both places. We invite more members to share their insights and photos.
A Word from Nancy - July 2022 - Bald Eagle
"E pluibus unum
Out of many, one”
― unofficial motto of the United States
Our national bird, the Bald Eagle, was an easy choice for July, the month we celebrate our independence. It symbolizes many things to me, including our decision to change our behavior (misinformed hunting and use of DDT) in order to save it from extinction here in the lower 48 states.
Recent events have led me to question just what it is our country symbolizes. This left me lacking my usual inspiration to write my monthly newsletter, which is why this is coming to you late. On July 1st there was a thoughtful opinion piece in The Seattle Times, written by Luis Carrasco, centered around a 1974 folk song I hadn’t heard before: “What Made America Famous?”
Although there are certainly negative themes in the song, it also reminds me that divisions among different groups/tribes often disappear when an emergency strikes. That remains my guiding light: we are great as individuals, and at our best when things are at their worst.
From Carrascos’ Article: “The only way to reach the promise of America is by connecting with our fellow Americans. Understanding that we cannot prove our love for our country by hating each other; believing that we can disagree, and that as we work toward making things better, we can rejoice when we succeed and understand when we don’t.”
This month’s photo was taken in December 2020 near McLane Creek, which is not far from our home in Olympia. It’s a great spot to see Bald Eagles during the salmon run. A number of you asked if this was some of Dan’s art work; it certainly looks like something he might have painted. In fact I used a program that lets me modify a photo to get different arty looks.
Bald Eagle Perched - Searching for Prey Willapa Hills Trail/ Feb 2021 - the winter we stayed up north Waiting for our vaccine; High Key processing
Here are a few more shots:
Bald Eagle in Flight - Near Seabeck WA May 2021
Bald Eagle Perched - Found it! Ready to fly
A Bald Eagle having lunch with an opossum; It’s pretty clear the bird enjoyed the meal more than the opossum did. Willapa Hills Trail Feb 2021.
Bald Eagles are one of the largest birds in North America, with a wing span of 28” - 38”. The sexes look alike, but females are about 25 percent larger than males. They are not actually bald; the name derives from an older meaning of the word, "white headed". Nests are reused from one year to the next, and are huge: up to 13 ft deep and 8 ft wide! Here's a link to more info and some photos of nests.