This bald eagle sat for hours at the top of one of the tallest white pines on the west side of the lake. He, or maybe it was she, had a great view of Belly Button Island and the lake around it.

As we paddled out from our bay, it wasn’t long before we spotted what we originally thought was a White Castle bag stuck near the top of the tree. Geez. How did that get there? As we got closer, the White Castle bag sprouted a yellow bill and a very muscular body.  It took Steve’s new lens to give us a view of the eagle’s nostrils, though.

Speaking of those nostrils, they are called nares. Air passes through them and into the bird’s entire respiratory system. Good things Eagles hunt by eyesight rather than smell, though. Because their sense of smell stinks.