The first bald eagle is spotted at Mile 16 of the Haines Highway. White head and tail show it to be an adult, at least 5 years old. The eagle isn't doing anything spectacular. It's not soaring, or diving, or feeding. It's simply sitting in a cottonwood, motionless except for its head, which it swivels our way as the bus slows.
Some passengers grab for binoculars or cameras, while others put faces to windows.
It's an unusual thing, to be among nine Alaskans, all intently focused on this one bird. Each of us has seen bald eagles before, many times. This is nothing new or especially exciting. But it's not the lone eagle that's got us stirred up. It's what the bird portends.