"Free Spirit" wasn't your typical bird. She was big, almost 13 pounds. She was engaging and sassy, making sure to leave a mound of feathers behind after eating her favorite meal (quail). She couldn't fly very well, but her wingspan — nearly 7 feet — was still impressive. And whenever someone got close, she greeted whoever it was with her special squeaky call.

"She was just one of a kind," said Gabe Vargo, 68, a senior volunteer at Boyd Hill Nature Preserve. Spirit, as she was called, an American bald eagle who was a longtime fixture at the preserve, died about 1:30 p.m. Saturday. She was 27 years old. Officials and volunteers aren't sure what caused her death. To read more about Free Spirit, please continue the article at the St. Petersburg Times.