Today I was joined on my daily riverside run by a bald eagle. Every time I passed him and got just out of sight, he flew directly over my head to a new perch up ahead. We played this leapfrog game for about two miles. I have never before wished so keenly that my iPod was also a digital camera.
I thought it was rather odd that the squirrels and seagulls didn’t seem fazed by him whatsoever. On the other hand, judging by the piles of feathers I passed coming back to my car, I think he was full.
I’m going to miss these runs so much when I move.
A runner myself, I’m envious of your pacer. Running in NYC, I’ve been joined once by a red tailed hawk and, another time, by a Cooper’s hawk, but never a bald eagle.
As a side note – I’m too anal not to mention it – “seagull” is a pet peeve of mine.
http://hungryhyaena.blogspot.com/2006/01/im-altogether-hung-over-this-morning.html
Far be it from me to exacerbate your peeves!
Today I paid particular attention to identifying the gulls, and my best guess is that our current population is mostly Ring-billed gulls. That’s consistent with the seasonal distribution map for that species. There are few species found this far upriver in winter.