First time I'd seen one since I moved here about 2 1/2 years ago.

When I was in IA, they were like sparrows, especially in the winter. Where I lived along the Mississippi was the northernmost point where the river wasn't frozen over all winter. Bald Eagles congregated there, especially one cove on the south end of the Rock Island Arsenal where there would be hundreds in the trees for a couple months every winter. There is a big festival every winter called Bald Eagle Days. Had them in the trees around my house a lot too, they were so common as to be unremarkable.