“It is the first time a bald eagle has been seen at Spring Lakes,” public relations marketing manager Gretchen Rives said. “He has been there for about a week or so. It is unusual that he is not passing through.”
According to Rives, the eagle is three or four years old.
“Typically with eagles they don’t get their white head until they’re five years old,” chief naturalist Cris Barnett said. “This time of the year is migration season. We’ve had reports of eagles in the counties for six weeks now; it’s usually a day or two. He has been seen on and off for the last couple of weeks.”
Naturalists have not been able to tell whether the eagle is male or female.
Eagles are part of the Miami Valley. A nesting pair of eagles has been in Englewood for about five years. Although bald eagles were removed from the endangered species list, they are protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.
Local wildlife photographer Bill Dice, of Kettering, captured an image of the bird.
Dice noticed the eagle about a week ago.
“I spend a lot of time outdoors and this is the first time I’ve seen an eagle in Greene County,” Dice said. “I think it’s coming to the pond to feed. They eat fish and geese, and there is plenty of that here.”
Dice is trying to get more pictures with a high zoom camera.
“The eagle population is growing in Ohio,” Barnett said. “We’re going to see them more and more all over the state. It is going to be more common for us to see the birds.”
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