Waldo Eagle

Day 13 (9/30/12)

Finally, we have an opportunity to get back out on the water. It is a beautiful fall day. The color seems to be some of the best we have had in years. We were torn as to where to go but decide on Waldo because it is close and it has proven in the past to be one of our favorite fall spots. Things started out kind of slow. The color was ok but not great yet. We worked our way up the lake which except for the flocking starlings seemed abandoned. When we got to the river we finally saw a lone blue heron that made sure we never got within photographing distance. We worked our way up the river which was so peaceful. As we went it got sunnier and sunnier. Right before the bridge we scared up a deer who wasn't scared enough to run but sat in the woods and snorted at us. We came back down the river without much distraction except for the always splendid landscape. When we got back to the lake we were greeted by a fairly strong headwind. Where did that come from? Shortly after getting to the lake I noticed a large bird of prey heading towards us. I knew it wasn't the Osprey that we had seen the last time we were out there. This was not that slender. Soon I saw the familiar markings of a Bald Eagle. It flew right over the top of us. I was a little disappointed that I hadn’t had the camera ready. Apparently we had sparked his interest because all of a sudden he flew back over the top of us and landed in a tree just ahead of us. He seemed like the attention but was probably just hoping we would scare up some fish because as we drifted past him he flew on ahead and waited for us to catch up again. Again we had our little photo session and were getting ready to leave when yet again he flew a little way ahead of us and waited again. He seemed to have no fear, just curiosity. Finally after we passed him the third time he took off and continued flying off the direction he had been headed. It was almost surreal. That is why we love Waldo, last time a Osprey this time a n Eagle. We continued back towards our Yakhauler with occasional stops for photos but we knew we weren't going to beat that experience today.