June 27, 2026

We are a pair of American Bald Eagles

Sometimes we've been seen playing with toys

We get our kicks

Using plastic bottles or sticks

To pass the time it's something we enjoy.

Location: Maumee Bay State Park, Oregon, Ohio

Sources: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bald_Eagle/

Photo and text © 2026 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

If you are reading and enjoying this blog, please consider supporting me on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/deeat8am, or purchase my current book, The Rhyming Guide to Florida Spiders (details at https://deeateightam.blogspot.com/p/rhyming-guide-to-florida-spiders-now.html). Thank you for being a reader and friend of Dee at 8 A.M.

March 9, 2023

These are three terrible quality photos

But proof of an awesome success

The Bald Eagles that Dee monitors

Have boinked and produced two baby eaglets.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bald_Eagle/maps-sightings

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 26, 2023

I am a male Bald Eagle

Flying with a fish to impress my mate

I dropped the fish, but I might still get my wish

She's flying with me, so maybe we'll date!

Location: Goodwin Wildlife Management Area, Broadmoor Unit, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.britannica.com/animal/bald-eagle

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

March 7, 2022

We are two juvenile eagles

If all goes well, we'll live 30+ years

In 5 years we'll be adult and have our own kids

If we avoid predators and profiteers.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bald_Eagle/lifehistory

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

January 12, 2022

I am known as a Bald Eagle

I've been in Florida since the late Pleistocene

Very few Bald Eagle fossils date from that time

Currently, they've only found around 17.

(Be sure to click the link below, very interesting article. I will have to hit the Florida Museum one of these days, haven't been there in years - maybe a post pandemic field trip!)

 

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/florida-vertebrate-fossils/species/haliaeetus-leucocephalus/

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

March 14, 2021

This is an apparently failed Bald Eagle nest,

It's been over a month since the baby or adults have been seen

The baby might have been sick or predated

Or the nest was abandoned for reasons unforeseen.

(This is the nest I've been monitoring for a few years now. We do not know what happened to the baby or adults. I saw the adults recently, but there is no sign of the baby, I am pretty sure it has perished.)

Location: Fellsmere

Sources: https://cbop.audubon.org/conservation/human-activity-and-disturbances-near-active-bald-eagle-nests

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 7, 2021

I am an adult Bald Eagle,

If I were young I would have brown eyes

My head and tail would also be brown

Like chicks in my nest you can't see due to their size.

(Note: Make sure you click the link below to see a fantastic photo essay on aging Bald Eagles. David Simpson notes that, " He [the author] doesn’t get into the details of wing molt which can tell more about the age of the bird.  Body and head plumage are pretty variable.")

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.featheredphotography.com/blog/2013/01/27/a-guide-to-aging-bald-eagles/

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

December 8, 2020

We are juvenile Bald Eagles

We were born earlier this year

We don't have a white head like our mom and dad

But that will come in a few years, don't you fear!

Note: We are pretty sure that these are the offspring of the eagles I monitor. They were born this spring and were just getting ready to fledge when the park was closed for COVID. The second photo shows what we think might be the baby from last year being chased out of the territory by one of his parents because they are getting ready to have a new brood now. The other 2 photos are the 2 from this year goofing off. 

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/bwdsite/birdwire-features/how-to-identify-bald-eagles

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

June 13, 2020

Location: Fellsmere, St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

We are two Bald Eagles,

An almost fledged baby and my parents

They've been feeding me fish for the last 5 months

So I can be a strong adolescent.

Sources: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Eagle Facts

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 10, 2020

Location: Fellsmere, St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

We are baby Bald Eagles,
Our mom's not right here, so we cry
But if we make a racket, or something attacks us,
Mom'll be here in a flash, she's nearby.

Note:  Often when I do my EagleWatch, I will see the babies sitting in the nest but no parents. But I have noticed that if the babies start raising a ruckus, the mom in there instantly, so obviously she was close by the whole time. What a good mom! 

On a sad note, this was my last eagle watch of the year due to the state park (as well as everything else) being closed. But I am glad I saw them get this big, they should be fledging in the near future. The folks at the park said they will let me know how they are doing, so check back, I will try to update this post when I hear that they have fledged.

Sources: Audubon Center for Birds of Prey - About the EagleWatch Program

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 22, 2020

Location: Brevard Zoo, captive

I am an American Bald Eagle
I wear a while ballet skirt
But if I'm hungry, fish, mammals and birds
Can be in for a world of hurt.

Sources: Cornell Lab All About Birds - American Bald Eagle

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson