Hi, Tweets,

I'm traveling in upstate New York and environs, but hey, we're talking about Bald Eagles here. This morning at Montezuma NWR, I observed something I haven't happened to witness before, a juvenile Bald Eagle taking a bath and then working to dry off afterwards. It was interesting to me to watch it flap-hopping up and down a few times after it finished its bath before it flew off to a branch to preen - wonder how much water weight it has to shed to fly well? It looked pretty bedraggled right after it finished the bathing phase. Or is it about getting the water out from between its feathers, rather than weight? Photos at flickr.com/photos/trileigh; I have more on both sides of the process if anyone's interested.

Good birding to all,
Trileigh

Trileigh Tucker
West Seattle
naturalpresencearts.com
flickr.com/photos/trileigh