The American Bald Eagle has been called beautiful, powerful, sacred, a thief, scavenger, and (in the words of Ben Franklin), “…a bird of bad moral character.” But what I’m most impressed by, as I get to know this raptor, is its fearlessness and undaunted perseverance.

Bald Eagles that survive bone-shattering auto accidents, poisoning, unethical hunters, starvation, attacking eagles, even having half their beak blown off trying to protect their young from a “cherry bomb” lobbed into the nest—those survivors simply move on. They find a new mate if they’ve lost one, they build a new nest if theirs has crashed to the ground, and they have another brood of eaglets in spite of the tragic death of previous offspring. And without anthropomorphizing too much, they truly are fearless—it’s integral to them; they fear nothing and no one. So between having no fear, and not becoming discouraged by difficulty, danger, or disappointment, I’d say their character is to be admired.

NFS