We who call Jackson Hole home are fortunate to have neighbors that capture the imagination.  Not necessarily the A-list celebrities or national politicos, but neighbors of the feathered and furred variety. Nothing gets our wildlife brethren to come into the forefront of the human consciousness as spring.  Following the long slog through the harsh realities of Wyoming winter, the landscape has begun to pop with animals and their new born young resuming the timeless habit of life outside of winter.

 

There are few things more western Americana than the bison, only surpassed by the American icon of the bald eagle.  Thankfully we are able to enjoy both species with startling regularity, which brings me to those bundles of sticks located high up in large host trees along the Snake River.  After receiving word this spring about newly established bald eagle nests, I have, within the past week, had the good fortune to visit two conservation easement protected properties with active bald eagle nests.

 

To see the mother’s white crown peering over the side of a nest is a sight to behold, knowing that the eggs she incubates will become fuzzy gray eaglets, and in time, large and soaring unique emblems of a species that was, until recently, on the brink of collapse.  Those fragile eggs in bald eagle nests located throughout Jackson Hole show that local recovery is something that we all, from long time residents to first time visitors, can appreciate on a daily basis.  The US Fish and Wildlife Service delisted the bald eagle as an endangered species in 2007 (in the Lower 48 States) to much fanfare, and rightfully so.

 

As you enjoy all that Jackson has to offer in the coming weeks, keep your eyes skyward for eagle aerial acrobatics, and if you’re out along our wonderful waterways you may catch a glimpse of the predatory prowess as adults work the streams to gather fish to feed the newly hatched young.  If you’re lucky you may come across a nest high up in a cottonwood, as I did.  Savor the opportunity, take some photos, but don’t stay too long.  Finishing up our tasks on our recent visits, we slipped away from the nests and their magnificent inhabitants, not wanting to disturb the nests or unnecessarily push the adults off the eggs, celebrating one of the many pleasures of living and working in this place.

– Steffan Freeman