Swapping e-mails with a supportive and enthusiastic researcher certainly does seem reminiscent of swapping family photos - except our exchange started with blurry through-binoculars pictures. Funny, I'd hope that most family photos are a bit more direct than a stealthy drive-by 10x zoom plus 8x42 bins... it's more like espionage than a Christmas card photo.
Still, in a way it's like having an old friend and comparing baby pictures:
A photo of Anakin enjoying a ride in the jeep. Awww.
And here's Brian's little one:
Here's a pic from the day she was fitted with an transmitter. The falconry hood assists in keeping the eaglet calm during the fitting process.
Since this project is ultimately not hands-on except for the fitting, it's neat to see that others contribute photos as well:
Photographed in South Miami-Dade county. [...] The eaglet sighting and photograph was taken by Katy Raits in November 2007.
...it's exciting to hear back about the bird you've spotted, but it's remarkably awesome to know that the life history of the critter is not only being documented, but shared with innocent bystanders who take the time and effort to look into the sightings. I guess that makes us part of the "Camp Eagle" fan club - and by extension, our readers get to be subjected to our enthusiastic whims :)
Perhaps other couples experience this kind of nostalgia, when they open an e-mail from a researcher whose bird they saw... two weeks ago. Hey, you've gotta start somewhere!
When looking at a Bald Eagle with a fully white head and tail, you know the bird is at least 4 years old; young ones have varying degrees of light patches but are predominantly dark.
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