I was walking the dogs south on the beach yesterday morning [5/24] at 9:30 when there appeared TWO enormous dark birds, who circled me and the dogs for more than a minute. In that time, I could clearly see that they were both mature bald eagles. But then a THIRD one coming from the north joined the circling in the sky. After a couple go-rounds, the original two headed back down toward Miniwanca and I didn't see where the third one had disappeared. But I then heard a huge commotion coming from the big flat-top pine at the south entrance. There were four big crows squawking their heads off and repeatedly dive-bombing one area of the tree. Within a minute the huge white-headed eagle took off and disappeared over the dunes behind Cobmoosa. Can you believe it? We have three mature eagles in our neighborhood!! It was awesome to see. ​

The third in a series of four birding trips hosted by the Oceana Conservation District will be Friday, June 8th, from 8:00 AM to at least 11:00 AM.  This trip will focus on breeding birds of Oceana County and will visit a pristine habitat along the White River.  The White River is designated as an Important Bird Area for the cerulean warbler as well as many other species.  For further information please visit their website. 

​Author’s note: My wife and I attended the OCD's second birding trip on May 14th.  It was also listed as 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM. Be advised, the trip did not end until 12:30 PM.  It was a great trip and no one minded that it “ran long”. My advice is simple: do not plan anything for the same day until 1:00 PM or later!