Eagles Nest

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.  Isaiah 40: 28-31.

I took this picture of a bald eagle on her nest along a river where I like to fly fish. I think these birds are far better at fishing than I am. In fact I tend to avoid fishing areas where I see these big nests, as the fish living around there tend to be quite wary of coming to the surface for a dry fly.

I’ve often marveled at the way these birds can build their nests. Sometime the nests are on top of broken trees. I doubt I could build one as sturdy while on the ground having the use of two hands, let alone several feet in the air. Some of these nests can become quite large over the years. Initially, the nest of a bald eagle is about five feet in diameter and about three or four feet deep. In subsequent years, the birds will add a couple of feet to their nest, both in diameter and depth. A bald eagle nest as large as nine feet in diameter has been recorded in at least a couple of areas.

Eagles use sticks from the forest for the main structure, and line the inside with moss, grass and other soft material. They often use downy feathers as the final layer on which to lay their eggs and rear their young.

They usually to return to the same nest, or at least the same area, each year. This is especially true if they were productive in prior years. Bald eagles also tend to mate for life.

I am sure the view from their nest is spectacular, but probably wouldn’t be too appealing to me personally. This probably stems from my falling out of a tall tree in my younger days (see Gary Lee and the Big Tree). Heights have never done much for me ever since. Fortunately, I don’t have to have my home several feet off the ground to live where I live and do what I do.

Sometimes, I must admit, I look at what someone else is doing, or what it is that I need to get done, and I’m tempted to think “I could never do that.” Actually, I can. If it is in the Lord’s strength and not mine.

Just like He says in the above Scripture.

Imagine that eh!