Bald Eagle in Osseo

I left work earlier than usual last Friday (before dark)- it was a grey day and I had gotten in early anyway. As I drove South on 169 I saw an odd blob in a tree on the other side of the highway. I did a u-turn at the next light and pulled over to discover that it was a bald eagle perched in a tree overlooking a plowed field.

I got my camera and started to make my way into the field closer to the eagle. My excitement had disarmed me of any stealth and the eagle made a quick departure off into the distance. But as I watched from the field it flew in a half-mile circle and landed on a telephone pole down another side road.

The chase continued. As I approached it's new perch, there was nowhere to pull over so I had to continue driving to a pull-off, got out, and started trekking back to it. Again, before I could get 20 yards, the eagle seemed to take note and took off.

This time, it flew further down the street, towards Osseo, and the into a residential area where I lost sight of it.

I spent 15 minutes circling the streets of the neighborhood it had flown towards and was almost ready to turn back towards 169 when I found the strange figure again perched in a tree this time above a house overlooking the same road I had just driven down.

I parked and spent a good 20 minutes taking pictures of the bird way up in the tree as the light faded. This time around there was no response from the eagle and it stayed put, unconcerned with my presence (or that of the rush hour traffic rushing by just below).

I'd seen bald eagles in zoos before but this was my first time seeing one in the wild, on the wing. It was spectacular even on a gray, dreary day, as darkness encroached.