A bit off topic but related - I took my sister for flight several years ago and was telling her about the the various birds I encounter while flying, with Red Tails and Osprey being the most common. I noted that I'd never seen a Bald Eagle. They exist in southern New Jersey but aren't exactly common, at least not near my home airport. Sure enough, about fifteen minutes later I saw a large bird crossing in front of us just below our altitude of about 2000' AGL. I caught up to it and it was a mature Bald Eagle with a large fish in it's talons. The nearest water was a lake about five miles behind the bird. That was one of the cooler things this sport has provided me.