A bald eagle flies over Kentucky Lake.  Marshall County.  November 4, 2005.  11:43 a.m. CST.

     Our fishing boat was cruising slowly on windy, choppy, Kentucky Lake a couple of weeks ago when three bald eagles suddenly burst into flight from trees on the near bank.  They passed no more than 100 feet right in front of the boat, their broad wings beating slowly as they rose gradually into the sky.  They reminded me of big airplanes taking off--heavy bombers, perhaps, resolutely heading to a mission thousands of miles away.
     But instead of leaving, they stayed in the area, flying high over the lake and trees on either bank.  We followed them as best we could for about half-an-hour.  Two of the three eagles flew in concert the entire time; the third would fly out of sight for awhile, then occasionally rejoin the other two, but at a distance.  The eagle pair cavorted in the air, flying together in tight circles, sometimes chasing each other.  Twice they came together and locked talons. We could hear their "scree" calls, even as they were hundreds of feet in the air.  They didn't appear to be looking for food; it seemed more like they were flying just for the joy of flying.  Eventually, they soared out of camera range, and then out of sight.
     Until that day, I had never seen bald eagles in the wild before, and their surprise appearance was stunning.  Bald eagles spend the winter at some of the big lakes in southern and western Kentucky, but they still are not what can be called a common sight.

     These photos were shot on Jonathon Creek on the west side of Kentucky Lake.  

This shot shows detail of eagle undercarriage.