Bald Eagle at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge (and one in Oregon)

Photo by Mrs. Geotripper

I spent the better part of two weeks in the Pacific Northwest visiting relatives for the holidays, and I knew we had a good chance to glimpse some Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), seeing as they are more common up that way. We did in fact see a few, but few decent pictures emerged from my efforts. On the way home, we stopped, as we almost always do, at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, and wouldn't you know there was a Bald Eagle hanging out on a small island right next to auto-tour road in the refuge. Mrs. Geotripper got the best shot (above).

The Sacramento Refuge has a very scenic backdrop for bird viewing, with the highest part of the California Coast Ranges to the west, Lassen Peak and other volcanoes to the north, and the Sutter Buttes to the southeast.

We mentioned our excitement about seeing eagles on our Facebook page, and found out that two of them were sitting in a tree next to the Oregon house that we had just left! It's too ironic. Anyway, I did actually see one of those eagles in Oregon, but it was high above, and I got just this fuzzy shot of it soaring over my head.