© Duart Dillon Hillas

Once upon a time, when I lived near George Washington’s estate in Virginia, I had a very peculiar experience.

An enormous bald eagle (male, I assume, because it was tall as a kitchen counter and wide as a chest of drawers) crash-landed about 9 feet from where I was sitting, on the patio. There was a tremendous sound as he hit some ivy and came to an abrupt halt.

He almost looked embarrassed, trying to straighten some of the feathers on his chest that were a bit ruffled. I was startled. I have never feared birds. But I did this one. I respected the HUGE beak that I figured could really do major harm to my skull and eye socket.

I surmise that it had spotted a rabbit and somehow lost it in the ivy of the hilly terrain. Sometimes, the weak and the naive do outsmart the determined predator. I was so rattled that it never occurred to me to use the phone I was holding to take a picture. Within a few minutes, like a heavy army airplane, he took off.

He was truly majestic, absolutely magnificent and beautiful. I often remember him. I am happy that it is our national bird.

Some time later I found this delightful trailer of The Eagle Huntress of Kazakhstan, which I post below. The documentary soon followed. Enjoy.