Happy 4th Of July!

F/6.3, 1/320, ISO 200.

Bald Eagle

What do you call a sick eagle?

Ill-eagle!

Interesting Fact: Had Benjamin Franklin prevailed, the U.S. emblem might have been the Wild Turkey. In 1784, Franklin disparaged the national bird’s thieving tendencies and its vulnerability to harassment by small birds. “For my own part,” he wrote, “I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly. … Besides he is a rank Coward: The little King Bird not bigger than a Sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the District.”  ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bald_Eagle/lifehistory )