You know, boys and girls, that I live on Hilton Head Island, in the state of South Carolina. Did you know also, that I live on a beautiful golf course and a big lagoon? I am so lucky to live here. I can look out my window and see the most amazing things.

I have a bird feeder and I see all types of birds because I put out different kinds of seeds and food. I have everything from woodpeckers to cardinals, because it is usually warm here and many birds make this their home.

On my lagoon I also see many different types of birds. I see heron, egrets, ducks, and cormorants, and ibis. There is also an alligator in my lagoon and sometimes on a warm afternoon he comes out to sun himself. He is almost nine feet long, too! Sometimes a golfer will hit his ball into the lagoon, but when Mr. Gator is out on the bank, the golfers never go down to get their golf ball out of the water, believe me.

With all of these things around my back yard, you would think nothing could surprise me, but boy, would you be wrong. About two months ago a spotted a huge dark colored bird with a white chest. The huge bird swooped away so fast I did not get a good look. The next day the same thing happened but no one would believe me because they did not know what it could be. That just goes to show you, boys and girls, always check up before you tell someone you don’t believe them. They could be right, you know!

Anyway, about three days later, my neighbor, Joan, saw it too. She did not know what it was either but she knew it was not a bird she had ever seen around here before. Now we both really started to watch carefully and keep our binoculars handy by the window.

It turned out to be not one, but two bald eagles. They were a "nesting pair." Right away I named the female Ethelyn. She was so beautiful and graceful, and I think Ethelyn is a lovely name and very strong too. It seemed to suit her perfectly. You know the female bald eagle is bigger and stronger than the male. I named the male Henry because he seemed to be always there on the job fishing and hunting and very faithful too. That name seemed to suit him just as Ethelyn suited her. They mate for life, you know.

Ethelyn at her home in Indigo Run

They built a huge nest in a very tall tree near my house. I watched them nearly every day while they sat right in the tree next to my window and tore Spanish Moss out of a pine tree and pulled it apart to put in their nest. Bald eagles build enormous nests from twigs and leaves. When the female is just about ready to lay her eggs, the male plucks many of the white feathers out of her chest and uses them to line the nest. Isn’t that a surprising thing? The nest can be up to eight feet across and may weigh as much as a ton. They always build them high off the ground either in trees or on a tall cliff. They use the same nest over and over again from year to year. They come back to the same spot, you see.

Females lay from 1to 3 eggs. I cannot see up into my nest, but I think Ethelyn has only laid one egg. The eagles, Ethelyn and Henry, will take turns sitting on the eggs for 4 to 6 weeks before they hatch. Isn’t that interesting-both male and female sit on the eggs? Both parents feed the hatchlings, too. They both hunt for meat during the day. They like fish but they will eat lots of different kinds of things and will also pick up dead animals sometimes. Their babies have great big appetites and need lots of food. Ethelyn and Henry must work very hard to feed their hatchlings. As I watched their nest in the beginning, I could see them both sitting on the egg and now that the egg has hatched I see that there is always one of them on guard sitting on a branch right near the nest. One morning, very early, I had a special surprise. As I looked out my window to the lagoon by my back porch I say Ethelyn land by the lagoon and step into the water. She went in right up to her white feathers and she caught a fish; what a sight to see!

The eggs hatch in four to six weeks but the chicks stay in the nest until they are ten to twelve weeks old. All that time, Ethelyn and Henry take turns guarding them and feeding them. Both parents must work very hard together to have a successful family. The babies depend on their parents for several weeks before they can fly well enough to hunt, but gradually they learn and they began to spend more and more time away from the nest. Finally, a young eagle will fly off and start their own life. How interesting it has been to watch this pair of Bale Eagles, our national bird, nesting in my very own back yard.

I have named my eagles Henry and Ethelyn and have pretended they were really like "people parents" starting a family of their own. Below you will find some interesting facts about Bald Eagles and some web sites where you can learn even more facts about them. Use those facts to make up a story of your own about eagles or some other kind of bird you may see in YOUR backyard. Check out the pictures of Ethelyn and Henry too, and don’t forget to look at the picture to color. You may download it free. Thanks boys and girls.

1. In the late 20^th century, the Bald Eagle was endangered, but has nearly recovered and now has a stable population.
2. Bald Eagles are very social and will return to where they were fledged and locate their nest near others if they can.
3. The head of a Bald Eagle does not turn that beautiful white until they are several years old.
4. The Bald Eagle is not bald at all but has a white feathered head. The term bald comes form an Old English word, "Baeld" which means white.
5. Eagles eat fish, rodents, small birds, and sometimes food they find, or food stolen from campsites and picnics.