Conversations with an Eagle

Brenda Cox recounts her remarkable relationship with Ichabod, a female bald eagle. Cox meets Ichabod for the first time when the ten-week-old bird, blown from her nest tree, is brought to stay at the wildlife rehabilitation centre where Cox is a supervisor. Cox has been drawn to raptors since she was a child, and she watches Ichabod with fascination. One day, crab-walking into Ichabod's cage to deliver a dead quail for dinner, Cox hears a noise behind her and turns to find herself "looking into eyes that could see a fish from a mile in the sky." Ichabod's eyes are bright and curious and the colour of brown sugar-and Cox is hooked. Conversations with an Eagle is full of lore about the bald eagle, North America's most dramatic raptor. Many of us have admired eagles as they soar high overhead, their wingspans regularly stretching seven feet or more. But few people come within breathing distance of these magnificent birds. In its depiction of how two very different creatures managed to form an enduring bond, this book is the next best thing to being there yourself.