The land of the free

It's been quite a day on the other side of the pond. Quite a day for all of us. Watching the coverage on TV, on cold, clear days like this in Northern Virginia, I'm transported back to my favourite university class in the US: 'Ornithology 1' - especially the field trips! I couldn't wait for those fantastic winter excursions in to the marshes and woods around the James River identifying cardinals, yellow-bellied sapsuckers, catbirds and Bohemian waxwings. And very occasionally down by the river we would catch a glimpse of that close cousin to our white-tailed sea eagles, the bald eagle. There is a distinct family resemblance to Frisa and Skye. Our birds may be a little bigger and lack the pure white head, but their pale head, yellow beak and white tail, their habits and behaviour show just how closely related they actually are - right down to chasing ospreys until they drop the fish they've caught as we watched them do at Loch Don last year. Infact last night, on the eve of this historic day, Frisa and Skye were perched together in a favourite lochside tree with the low angle of the winter sun illuminating them perfectly as if in a spotlight on a stage. And not for the first time I thought how much alike they are to their North American brothers and sisters. As Skye landed next to Frisa, they simultaneously threw their heads back skywards and called loudly to the heavens - just like the bald eagles along the James and Potomac Rivers and like African fish eagles along the Mara River - so many echoes, so many memories.

Whilst studying at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, I had the good fortune to be taught by Professor Mitchell Byrd. Dr Byrd is responsible for successfully reintroducing peregrine falcons to the State and for pioneering work on bald eagles which are now thriving again to the point where they've recently been removed from the endangered species list. I worked with him on the peregrine project on Cobb Island off the eastern shore of Virginia and conducted aerial surveys from a small plane on breeding bald eagles. I can well recall feeling more than a little queasy as our pilot tilted the plane's wings for us to gaze down at a bald eagle's nest to count the young as the adult bird gazed up and watched us fly on to the next nest further up river. Not quite how we do it here but it was a very effective method of getting round alot of eagle territories. Maybe I should try submitting a bid in the next budget round? OK, no chance. It's leg work and Landrover power on Mull for the time being. When I couldn't get my fix of white-tailed eagles on Mull, the bald eagles were the next best thing and very majestic and awe-inspriring they are too. Sometimes when I see the young and adult sea eagles along the river banks here on Mull waiting for spent salmon or sea trout to pass by, I can imagine bald eagles along a river in Alaska - all we're missing are the brown bears!

Last summer as we travelled north on the train from the nation's Capital - the scene of such celebration today - we gazed out over the mighty Chesapeake Bay. As we moved along, an excited cry went up as we saw an osprey, some shore birds, cormorants and then a bald eagle flapping across the surface of the bay. As the train moved on, there was just time to watch it lift up from the water and soar high and free before we lost sight of it behind the trees. Fantastic to realise that the bald eagles were now a fairly common sight in the US, a huge conservation success story. Hopefully one day, our white-tails will follow their lead and we'll glimpse them from train journeys along Scotland's and England's east coast. Let's also hope that the new administration in Washington, along with everything else it will have to tackle, puts wildlife and protection of the environment higher up the political agenda than the last lot did. Good luck Mr Obama, your National Bird and the whole World wishes you well.

Dave Sexton RSPB Mull Officer