Bald eagles in a cabbage palmetto

Going back through some of my favourite tour photographs, I keep returning to this pair of bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) perched in a cabbage palmetto (Sabal palmetto). It is an atypical plant — palms are not true trees — for bald eagles to relax in, but this pair has been doing it for years.

Broad-winged birds usually alight on branches that are easy to land on and easy to take off from. These two are an exception. They are one of several pairs that make Lake Trafford in the Western Everglades their home.

The difference is subtle, but the female is the larger bird, on the right in the photograph. The female is often the larger of the sexes in birds of prey.

Guests on Captain Bob’s Excellent Adventure and the Western Everglades Adventure ride Lake Trafford every week, and the eagles are one of the reasons we take the airboat out at all.