From Central Florida Lifestyle Publications:

As many Lake Nona residents know, bird watching in the area is a wonderful pastime. Quiet, tranquil and yet exciting. And recently the bird watching got even better when Francis came for a visit. Francis, an 18-year-old bald eagle, landed at Lake Nona Information Center with a few of his feathered friends and some without wings, too.

Lynda White, EagleWatch coordinator for the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey in Maitland and her husband Jim White, a center volunteer, escorted Francis, two owls and another raptor to answer questions and reveal the amazing birds.

Removing a small skull from a plastic bag to show what birds of prey can do, Lynda explains that the skull is from a deer and was found in a local bald eagle’s nest. It’s a dramatic way to let people know what eagles eat and how efficient they are. “They don’t waste anything,” Lynda says.

Scary skulls aside, Francis is the real star attraction. He is regal, but uninterested and unruffled by the gathering of people that have come to meet him. His hefty curved yellow beak and long, intimidating talons attest to the bird’s deadly arsenal of tools to make a meal out of fish mostly but also whatever prey is available. Raised by the Birds of Prey Center since he was two days old (he was pushed out of his own nest, probably because he was born sick), the bald eagle has survived only because of the center.

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