I gave a shout to the volunteers. We all watched open-mouthed and silent. The eagle was soaring above us. It was incredibly beautiful to watch him glide through the air, wings open and still. I ran through adjectives in my head ... regal, majestic, breath-taking. None seemed sufficient to match the experience.

We watched the eagle rise high above. When he was just a black speck, a much smaller bird hurtled through the sky. It was a Cooper's Hawk, still noteworthy, but a much more common sighting in Riverside Park. As he passed over, he pulled up his wings, dipped low to the grass, and caught a small sparrow in flight!

"Well," I thought, "it looks as though I've just experienced the best day ever."

To be honest, getting back to pulling weeds seemed downright mundane! But as I filled my bag with thistle and burdock, I swelled with happy pride. I get to be a part of a project that are making sightings like this more commonplace. Four years ago, if that eagle had flown over this newest piece of parkland, he would have seen an uninviting place indeed. I like to think that this September, when that eagle flew over, he thought, "Oooh, this looks nice! I'll have to stop by here again!"