While birding at Harris Lake Park in New Hill North Carolina last weekend, I was surprised by the sight of this female juvenile Bald Eagle flying low over a field near the playground area.
Although I often see these impressive birds here, normally they tend to hang out on the western side of the lake where it’s less populated with park visitors.

Bald Eagles are found throughout the Tarheel state from the mountains to the coast and thanks to a ban on DDT & the efforts of conservation programs, their numbers are increasing.
Although wintertime brings in migrants down from Canada there are quite a few of them that even call the Triangle region home throughout the entire year.
In fact, nearby Jordan Lake hosts over 20+ pairs of breeding Bald Eagles which is pretty awesome!

Look for these large raptors hunting for a meal over large bodies of water such as rivers, lakes and estuaries. They are an especially common sight in the Lake Mattamuskeet and Jordan Lake SRA’s with varying degrees of population flux from summer to winter.
Aren’t they lovely?
🙂

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the full frame beast of an SLR, the mighty @canonusa
#5Ds