File:Immature Bald Eagle (24050167714).jpg

Yesterday I visited my favorite spot on the Androscoggin River in Topsham and was very pleased to see this immature eagle perched in the small tree on the little island. I took several shots before it decided to fly away. I also noticed several others and I counted at eight of them. Most were immature but there was one adult with the trademarked white head and tail. A bit up river from here, some resident who lives on the river had put some sort of carcass on the ice and that seems to have attracted all the birds. It was very warm yesterday and as can be seen there were patches of open water.

The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus, from Greek hali "sea", aiētos "eagle", leuco "white", cephalos "head") is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle.It is found near large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply and old-growth trees for nesting.

The bald eagle is an opportunistic feeder which subsists mainly on fish, which it swoops down and snatches from the water with its talons. It builds the largest nest of any North American bird and the largest tree nests ever recorded for any animal species, up to 4 m (13 ft) deep, 2.5 m (8.2 ft) wide, and 1 metric ton (1.1 short tons) in weight. Sexual maturity is attained at the age of four to five years.

Bald eagles are not actually bald; the name derives from an older meaning of "white headed". The adult is mainly brown with a white head and tail. The sexes are identical in plumage, but females are about 25 percent larger than males. The beak is large and hooked. The plumage of the immature is brown.