From: Sandy King (sanking@clemson.edu)
Date: 11/05/02-07:22:00 PM Z
Shannon wrote:
>Lucky you.
>
>Were they golden eagles? I think golden eagles have been
>reintroduced along the southeastern appalachian chain. I saw some
>people releasing some once. They had been hatched in captivity I
>think, and gradually trained to find their own food so that they
>could live in the wild.
>
>--shannon
Yes, they were golden eagles. At first we thought they were hawks but
it soon became apparent that their wing spread and size were much
larger than that of hawks. I have seen solitary and pairs of eagles
before at several locations, especially along the South Carolina
coast, but never so many in one place at one time, and soaring below
me at that.
Sandy King
>
>
>>One of the greatest joys experienced from my involvement with
>>photography, greater even than image making, has been the
>>experiences derived from seeing things that most never see.
>>
>>Yesterday, at Tallulah gorge near Clayton, Georgia offered such an
>>experience. The gorge itself is awesome, some several hundred feet
>>high with a fairly large stream at the bottom that cascades down
>>the side of a mountain. And the fall colors this year are
>>spectacular. However, as Sam Wang and I stood at the top of an
>>overlook over the gorge something quite unique to both of our
>>experiences took place. A large number of eagles, perhaps as many
>>ad 12-15, suddenly began soaring beneath us, quite nearby at
>>perhaps less than 25-50 feet. And from time to time one of the
>>eagles would fly straight up toward us, coming to with 10-15 feet,
>>and then at the last moment veer off the one side. I have seen
>>eagles fly above me on many occasions, but the sight of them
>>soaring beneath us, and the bottom of the gorge hundreds of feet
>>below them, was simply awe inspiring. We could even see the way
>>they used the top tips of their wings to adjust to the thermals, as
>>they circled around just beneath our vantage point.
>>
>>Happily I did not have on hand a suitable camera to photograph the
>>experience. Better I think, because that might have distracted me
>>from seeing.
>>
>>
>>
>>Sandy King
>>
>>
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>>--
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