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The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) received its name from a time when bald, balde or balled meant ‘white’ and was originally known as the bald headed (white headed) eagle.  A mating pair will mate for life, however, with the loss of a partner, the surviving bird will take another partner.  Mating pairs do not build a new nest from scratch every year, they will return and reuse the same nest and will merely clean up and add to the nest each year. I came across this guy sitting on a very old and disused dock piling and expected him to fly away upon our approach in a small boat.  To my surprise he stayed put and was confident he was in charge of the situation, close to low tide and given the height of the piling we must have still been outside of his comfort zone.  More eagles can be seen here.