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A juvenile bald eagle was spotted picking up a piece of pizza in Wethersfield, Connecticut.
Douglas Gemmell/Contributed Photo
While walking around Wethersfield Cove, nature photographer Doug Gemmell captured a rare photo of a juvenile bald eagle. What makes the photo even more unique is that instead of a fish in its talons, there was a piece of pepperoni pizza.
"While walking to that spot I saw a juvenile bald eagle doing a couple circles over the parking lot and then I saw it lower his legs," Gemmell said. "I knew that meant he was heading down. I thought I would wait for him to get lower before I start[ed] taking photos.
Gemmell said that a snowbank got in the way of him photographing the eagle at the moment that it snatched up the slice of pizza.
A juvenile bald eagle was spotted picking up a piece of pizza in Wethersfield, Connecticut.
Douglas Gemmell/Contributed Photo"I was able to capture photos of him flying around with the slice of pepperoni pizza in his talons before he was chased out of sight by some crows that also wanted the slice of pizza," Gemmell said.
According to the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP), eagle eggs that have been nesting throughout the winter are beginning to hatch. During this period, adult eagles will begin "regular food deliveries" until the hatchlings are ready to fly and find food on their own.
A juvenile bald eagle was spotted picking up a piece of pizza in Wethersfield, Connecticut.
Douglas Gemmell/Contributed PhotoIn its latest "State of the Birds" report, the Connecticut Audubon Society noted that bald eagle populations are improving across Connecticut with a third of towns around the state reporting bald eagles nests.
“Twenty years ago, who would have ever thought you’d see a bald eagle nesting in Connecticut?” said spokesperson Tom Andersen in 2022. “Now they’re nesting in 67 towns.”