Picture Of The Week 01-04-10

Where: Chesterfield County, VA • Dutch Gap

Notes: There would be no better way to spend New Years Day, than getting out and enjoying a morning of bird watching. My partner and I added a couple of layers over our thermals to ward off the chilly air that morning. Then we filled the thermos with hot coffee and stopped for fresh muffins on the way to one of our favorite birding places in the Richmond area, Dutch Gap. As we headed toward the entrance of the park, we passed the Dominion Power plant's ash pond area. There, we noticed a pair of Bald Eagles perched on the ash piles at the edge of the roadside pond. We stopped for a quick look. One of the adult pair took off across the water. It was obviously searching for fish. Several times the eagle made a diving pass towards the water. Eventually it grabbed a small fish, then returned to its perch on the the mound and ate its catch. Cloudy skies prevented us from having the light we would have preferred to photograph with. At around three feet long from head to tail, and with six and a half feet of wing span, I was amazed at how fast this majestic bird could get from one side of the pond to the other. But, experiencing these large birds on the hunt, was a great way to start off the new year.