Up until about 10 years ago, Bald Eagles were non-existent in my area. The last documented nesting pair in the Dayton area disappeared about 80 years ago. Three rivers (Great Miami, Mad, and Stillwater) as well as a large Creek (Wolf) merge together in the middle of our city to form the Great Miami river which winds its way South to join the Ohio River about 60 miles away along the Ohio/Ind. border. Up until about 25 years ago, the rivers had large dead zones created from a combination of low head dams, farm run off, Industrial pollution, de-icer from our airport and who knows what else. Though still not perfect, the rivers have cleaned up considerably and a lot of fish and waterfowl have returned. About 10 years ago, our first documented nesting pair of Bald Eagles came to roost on the North side of Dayton along the Mad River inside the city well field. Last year a second nesting pair appeared on the South side of the city along the Great Miami River in an area known as Carillion park. Other nesting pairs have been spotted both North/South of the city along the rivers. With the appearance of the 1st nesting pair, a small group of people who eventually became known as the "Eastwood Eagle Watchers" began documenting the return of the Eagles to Dayton with a blog on Wordpress. A couple of the guys have cameras and lenses that would rival any camera set up you would see on the sideline of the Super Bowl. They get some absolutely amazing shots. I realize that many of the members here live in areas where the Bald Eagle is fairly common, but I thought people might enjoy seeing some of the photos on the blog. If you are so inclined, you can subscribe to the blog on the first page (free) and whenever there is an update, it will pop up in your mailbox
Mike
Mike