Bald Eagles Sighted at the Pond

Mike and I were sitting in the great room talking when Mike looked out the window and jumped up.  He was pretty sure he had seen a bald eagle fly over the pond because he had caught the white on its tail and head.  We ran out to the balcony and we tried for a picture but this was the best shot we got...

There were a pair of bald eagles out there.  We watched them fly around the pond and then take off.  Mike got his jacket and the RZR key so he could go drive around the pond to see if he could find the pair.  He sighted them two more times before he came back to the house.  While he was gone I looked up more about bald eagles.  I learned the following:

1.  Most bald eagles come here during the winter and only for the winter from the upper Great Lakes region.  They start coming to our area as early as November.  

2.  A very, very small number of bald eagles actually stay in Illinois year round.  

3.  The primary food for bald eagles in Illinois is fish.  

4.  Wintering eagles use large trees on riverbanks for daytime perches.  

5.  Bald eagles are very sensitive to even minor human disturbances.  

After reading item number five, I got worried.  I figured Mike following the pair around the pond in the RZR counted as a minor human disturbance and maybe we would forever scare these two off.  I worried for nothing though.  We saw them again after he returned from his searching.  Here is the picture we snapped when they returned.  We may have to break down and buy a better camera if they are going to become regular visitors.