THE ROADKILL CAFE

 

In an Audubon email alert, another local birder reported that she’d seen nine eagles at the Roadkill Cafe.  While the name made me laugh, she’d aptly named a field in farm country where the road commission dumps roadkill carcasses.  

 

 

While it’s sad to see such roadkill, mostly deer, the commission gets the dead critters off the road so other animals aren’t hit while feeding on the dead ones.  It also provides a good food source for opportunist animals trying to survive the cold winter months.

On the particular day I visited, I spotted two mature Bald Eagles in a tree watching the roadkill site just below them.  Over he last couple of years, I’ve seen a family of four eagles there on a regular basis.

A few trees over, I spotted another eagle, this one a juvenile, although the incoming eagle-in-flight was more interesting to watch at that moment. 

 

 And that’s where most of the action was on this particular day.  In the sky.  I spotted five eagles in all and most of them were soaring.  Some were headed to the roadkill site, while others were just gliding on whatever air masses were present that afternoon.

 

 One of the adult eagles was getting ready to take flight, and I focused my camera on it, hoping to catch some in-flight close-ups.

 

 As the eagle raised its enormous wings, I was struck by its beautiful white head and neck.  From my bird app iBird PRO, I learned that at one time, the word “bald” (balde) meant white—not hairless—referring to the white head and upper neck of the adult Bald Eagle.

 

  The eagle stretched out its wings as it took fully to the air.  Its enormous six to eight foot wingspan was evident. 

 As it cleared the tree line, the eagle looked down.  Was it aiming to feast on the latest roadkill, I wondered?

No, it didn’t seem that was it, as it turned back towards the tree where its mate still sat on a branch and watched.  Perhaps, it was beckoning the mate to join in on the air time.  Can you think of a better way to spend an afternoon?