SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — Seeing a bald eagle in Maine is not uncommon, but seeing two in the city of South Portland got residents very excited.
A crowd gathered Sunday afternoon to watch the pair up in a tree near the Hobbs funeral home on Cottage Road.
Social media buzzed with photos of the birds as onlookers shared their experience.
According to Maine Audubon naturalist Doug Hitchcock, you can tell they are immature eagles from their dark heads. Hitchcock says one is at least three or four-years-old and the other is probably one or two-years-old and it takes about five years to grow into the traditional white head of an adult bald eagle.
Hitchcock says the key takeaway is the population has rebounded and is so well adapted to any environment.
“The eagle population has come back in Maine and the odds of encountering one has gotten much higher,” he said to the Portland Press Herald. “It’s a highlight of a great success story of being able to re-establish the eagle population in Maine.”
