Eagles, Image and Mien
We're going to leave the Eagle Convention for a bit, to contemplate eagles more broadly. First, their image and mien: militant, stern, watchful, fierce, aloof, dignified, noble, commanding, powerful, strident. No wonder the Bald Eagle is the National Bird.
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Dignitas, semper dignitas. Always dignified and alert, even when studying the photographer:
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But eagle observations sometime reveal a lighter side, or at least a side that humans, perhaps anthropomorphically, might characterize as lighter. Thus, preening: It might seem out of character for the National Bird, and unseemly in public.
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And sometimes there is nothing like a good scratch, whether or not dignity is preserved.
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It's also difficult to maintain raptor dignity if you are being harassed by a crow, or you choose to perch in the midst of a raucous covey of crows.
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Comments
After a lifetime of mainly expressing myself with words, my postings here will mainly rely on images. They will speak for themselves to some extent, but I'll usually add a few comments of explanation. I've taken photographs for decades, since the 1950's, inspired in part by my father's photographic skill. Four years of photo assignments and quality darkroom time eventually gave way to decades of casual and family picture-taking. I re-immersed myself when I left film and turned to digital.