遠鏡攝大鵰

由於西雅圖臨湖濱海﹐常見許多海鷗﹐以及靠捕魚為生的禽鳥。

我家附近就有兩個禿鷹的窩築在大樹頂上﹐偶而可見到牠們高來高去的蹤影。

前年夏天我們去一個北方海島度假也曾看到一些禿鷹﹐

不過都沒能拍到清晰的照片。

年假期間﹐我們到附近的海邊散步﹐有了去年的經驗﹐我不但多加衣服﹑還戴了

帽子手套!

去年在寒風中一隻海鳥也沒見著﹐

今年雖然有了一個較長的鏡頭﹐卻並沒有抱太大的希望。

海邊空盪盪的﹐除了我們家祖孫三代五口人之外﹐只遇到一對老夫婦和一個架著

望遠鏡尋找海豹蹤跡的人。

入冬後﹐岸上增加了好多漂流木﹐漲潮線也向內陸逼近許多﹐

原來可以繞過燈塔走到另外一邊的海灘﹐現在通路已被潮水淹沒。

不過﹐竟意外發現了一對禿鷹。

禿鷹並不是真禿﹐它的英文名字 Bald Eagle 的 bald 原來是英文廢棄的古語﹐

指的是白色的頭羽。它的中文名為白頭海鵰﹑又名美洲鵰﹐

禿鷹原產北美洲﹐1782 年被制訂為美國的國鳥。

我們在許多代表美國的標誌上﹑以及錢幣上都能見到鷹的圖案。

從小玩遊戲就知道老鷹會抓小雞。

鷹是肉食動物﹐生長在海岸湖畔﹐就是為了可以捕魚為食。

牠們的鷹眼和鷹爪都是利於捕食的構造。

禿鷹每年只生三個蛋﹐雌雄共同孵育。

環境污染曾造成禿鷹面臨絕滅的危機﹐所以禿鷹在美國是受保護的動物。

自從DDT對環境污染造成大量野生禽獸死亡後﹐促使人類為保護及育種做出

極大的努力﹐現在禿鷹的數量已經回升。

文末附上網路資訊以供參考。

Habitat: The bald eagle lives near rivers and large lakes, as it catches most of its food in the water.

Diet: Eagles are carnivores (meat-eaters) and hunt during the day (they are diurnal). They eat mostly fish. They also hunt and scavenge small mammals, snakes, and other birds.

Anatomy: Bald eagles have a long, downward-curving yellow bill, and large, keen eyes. These strong fliers have white feathers on their head, tail, and wing tips; the body has brown feathers. The feet have knife-like talons. Eagles have about 7,000 feathers. Adult eagles have a 7 ft (2.3 m) wingspan. The females are 30% larger than the males.

Nest and Eggs: Bald eagles build an enormous nest from twigs and leaves. The nest can be up to eight feet across and may weigh a ton! Nests are located high from the ground, either in large trees or on cliffs. Eagles may use the same enormous nest over and over again for years.

A clutch of 1 to 3 eggs eggs is laid by the female. The incubation period is from 1 to 1 1/2 months. Both males and females incubate the eggs. They both feed the hatchlings until they learn to fly (fledge).

Where Eagles Fly video