In our area, bald eagles nest around Merrymeeting Bay and at a few places on the Androscoggin River. They hunt up and down the river valley. I most often see them along the river on Lincoln St. in Lewiston and Riverside Drive in Auburn. These birds are big. They are about thirty inches from head to tail, and their wingspan ranges from six to seven and a half feet.
Young birds are blackish, with motley and irregular white patches.
It s a treat to see a mature one, of three or more years, with the dazzling white head and tail, and heavy yellow bill. These white markings reassure me I am making a correct identification. Sometimes when circling low, the birds loom so large, I know they are eagles no matter what their markings. They build their nests in forks of large living trees, thirty to sixty feet high, in open areas on rivers, large lakes, marsh or along the seacoast. Occasionally they may nest on a cliff.