My first Mississippi bald eagle sighting!

Posted by Bookfool (Mississippi, United States) on 2 April 2009 in Animal & Insect.

I've finally become weary of Mynelle Gardens. Amazing I lasted so long. There are more dancing drops and flowers, but I'll save them for another day. After we left the botanical gardens, hubby and I drove to the Reservoir (aka "The Rez"), where there is a great deal of bird life. There's a place called Turcotte Education and Shooting Facility, which is also a wildlife refuge. It's not the most peaceful place because of frequent, deep, reverberating gunfire (you almost feel like throwing yourself to the ground) but you never know what might show up. During the fall, as I was walking toward the little viewing blind, I was stunned to see a hawk perched probably 15 feet ahead of me, on the wooden fence.

This time, we couldn't even get into the blind because red wasps were swarming (and those suckers are mean!). But, I didn't know that when this fellow came along. I was walking toward the blind and saw what I thought was a hawk. I had a 300mm lens on the camera and sometimes the camera sees better than the photographer. This was one of those cases. It wasn't until I whipped out three frames and he had disappeared that I looked at my little screen and discovered I'd just spotted my first bald eagle in Mississippi. My husband practically had to hold me down, I was so excited. It's not the best photo in the world, but I'm just pleased to have finally captured a bald eagle at all. I've heard you typically have to go out on the water in order to spot them.