Our boat trip out of Seward was, in my opinion, the highlight of our trip to Alaska. It was an amazing drive with gorgeous mountain scenery between Anchorage and Seward. The cruise was a sight seeing tour with an emphasis on wildlife and the glaciers of the Kenai Fjords. Needless to say, right up my alley! I knew the trip would not disappoint when we weren’t even out of the harbor before seeing a pair of bald eagles (Haliaetus leucocephalus). According to our guide, this particular pair are known as the greeting crew for the harbor. They are very often perched on this old piece of factory equipment watching the boats come and go. Apparently, they are a mated pair and stay in the area year round. During the breeding season they are often busy, but during the nonbreeding season they are out there almost every day (as you can tell by the amount of guano on the machinery).

The bald eagle can be found in all but the northernmost parts of Canada and Alaska, as well as throughout the contiguous United States and northern Mexico. There are two subspecies. This pair is from the subspecies H. l. washingtoniensis, which is found in most of the United States, Canada, and Alaska. The other subspecies H. l. leucocephalus, is the one we have here in Florida as well as much of the rest of the southern United States and Mexico. The northern subspecies tends to be somewhat larger than the southern, which is not unusual. These magnificent birds are usually found in areas with large bodies of water and large trees surrounding them. These places include seacoasts, lakes, marshes, swamps, rivers, and even man made reservoirs. They are opportunistic feeders and will prey on a large variety of smaller animals and they are well known for stealing prey from other predators. Some of them, especially young ones who are not adept hunters yet, will even eat carrion. Generally, their main source of nutrition is fish, but studies have shown that except for the red tailed hawk, the bald eagle has the most varied diet of any raptor.

Bald eagles are well known as the national bird of the United States, but not too long ago, they were nearly extinct in this country. They have made a remarkable come back, and have been considered a species of least concern since 2007. Although I have seen bald eagles many times here in Florida, I haven’t had the chance to photograph them since I’ve been doing photography. I was absolutely thrilled to get the chance to see these majestic birds at a relatively close range. Even though the last shot is from a great distance and of a different bird, but I thought it made a good habitat shot.