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Adult Bald Eagle at York SC




I was surprised about 1 p.m. today (19 April 2003) when an adult Bald Eagle flapped up from the roadside about a mile southeast of York SC at the intersection of Langum Branch Road and SC 324.

The eagle flew over the York County school bus depot and doubled back across the road over my vehicle to perch in a stand of 50-foot pines on the south side of the intersection. The eagle seemed smallish and may have been a male. It was joined almost immediately by two American Crows that harassed it. The eagle's full white head and tail were apparent during the entire episode. I left the scene and returned a few minutes later with my camera but by then the eagle had flown.

This sighting occurred less than a mile overland from Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History, so I was a little disappointed not to see it flying over the property so it could be added to the "yard list."

The closest resident/breeding Bald Eagles are perhaps 15 miles away on Lake Wylie and 25 miles away on the Catawba River near Landsford Canal State Park. It seems unlikely that today's bird was one of those nearby breeders, but it is also late for a non-resident to be moving through in migration.

In addition to one-acre Hilton Pond, there are several multi-acre and somewhat isolated ponds within a few miles of today's sighting, raising the tantalizing possibility that Bald Eagles may be nesting in the neighborhood.


Happy Birding!

BILL
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BILL HILTON JR., Executive Director
Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History
1432 DeVinney Road, York, South Carolina 29745 USA
hilton@hiltonpond.org, (803) 684-5852, eFax: (503) 218-0845

The mission of Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History is "to conserve plants, animals, habitats, and other natural components of the Piedmont Region of the eastern United States through observation, scientific study, and education for students of all ages." Please visit our web sites (courtesy of Comporium.net) at http://www.hiltonpond.org and http://www.rubythroat.org ("Operation RubyThroat: The Hummingbird Project").

"Never trust a person too lazy to get up for sunrise or too busy to
watch the sunset." BHjr.