The Free Radical

In the past few days, Eagle has been spotted everywhere.

Two mornings ago, as I loaded the dogs into the truck for our walk, a very large bald eagle was circling above the neighbourhood grocery store– the view from my deck looks onto their roof. I always think that Eagle is there just for me… mostly because I seem to be the only one who ever notices his presence.

And then, later that evening, as I was out on a bike ride beside Columbia Lake, I was overflown by another (perhaps the same) very large bald eagle as I biked along the lakeshore path. I assumed this to be the mate of the one in the nest I had passed a while earlier.

Please bear with me as I make the case that this is indeed a young bald eagle in transition from its dark youthful plumage to the lighter mature colourings which develop over a four-year period. As this individual appears now, it could be easily mistaken for an osprey.

Between Eagle and Osprey, Eagle is by far the more common bird in these parts. The calls from this individual as I approached the nesting area were distinctly Eagle. (I actually do a fairly accurate imitation of Osprey’s whistle.) The fact that a much larger and definitively mature bald eagle was seen in the immediate vicinity suggests a mated pair, rather than interspecies competitors.

Although the dark mask on an otherwise white head is indicative of Osprey, there is also a brief period where a young bald eagle will exhibit the very same markings. The beak as well will slowly transition from black to bright yellow. I maintain that this is an eagle precisely at that transition point.

One feature which sets Eagle apart from other raptors is that their eyes are set more forward-looking for proper binocular vision; they tend to look at things straight on, rather than sideways through one eye only, like other birds.

As I made my way past on my bike, this parent hunkered down protectively within the nest. I’m not sure what danger I might pose, as I haven’t quite perfected my ability to fly… yet.

The remainder of my case advocating Eagle is the sudden prevalence of Eagle’s favourite food: Snake. In a twenty-four-hour span I encountered Snake on 3 separate occasions. In animal symbolism, predators and their preferred prey are always considered together, especially when both are encountered in close proximity.

Each of the snakes was lucky to remain alive through our encounters. The one pictured above was nearly stepped on as it basked in the sunlight on the road where I park my truck. I had to poke it in the tail with my toe before it even considered moving along. The other two were encountered on my mountain bike, and I just managed to swerve at the last instant to spare each of their lives. Snake has never well understood the true function of human roadways… much to their somewhat flattened detriment.

Anyway, Eagle is considered one of the most powerful and fortuitous of animal totems. Eagle is well connected to the Earth (ground) through its reliance on mainly terrestrial prey (snakes and gophers). Eagle is also known as the inspired Spirit, liaison to the Sun and absolute master of the sky. Interestingly, Eagle has also been strongly associated with various imperialistic empires throughout the ages. The fact of my encountering this individual in transition is rather telling of the transition currently underway among our modern imperialistic forces.

On a personal level, Eagle reminds me to remain grounded even while ‘losing myself’ in more Spiritual endeavours. I can also report here that we’ve still been encountering Goose at the river daily– only recently though, it is now again a pair of Canada Geese whom Sitka chases, instead of just the lone one we’d been encountering the previous weeks. (Sitka too hasn’t quite perfected her ability to fly– but it’s not for lack of trying!) Mother Goose is an obvious totem for writers, and I’m taking their presence here as encouragement and approval. Indeed, I feel very good about all that I’ve been writing in recent months!