No, it wasn’t a sign for an outlet mall. "It was the first time I had ever seen an actual bald eagle, and it was right in my neighborhood," said the Milton resident who manages Willett Pond in Walpole for the Neponset River Watershed Association. When he was growing up, bald eagles, the national symbol since 1782, were so rare that they had an almost mythical quality. They have been spotted near the Charles River and Jamaica Pond in Boston, Spy Pond in Arlington and even the Chestnut Hill Reservoir near Boston College, where the athletic teams are known as the Eagles. Marion Larson, chief of information and education at the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, said eagle sightings increase in the winter, because birds are coming down to Massachusetts from northern New England and Canada, where rivers and lakes may be frozen, for better access to food. "One of the reasons eagles disappeared from Massachusetts 100 years ago was water quality," Vitz said. They are too big to escape notice.” 
 
 Jeremy Bick, stewardship manager for the Trustees’ Boston region, said employees of the nonprofit have seen their share of bald eagles, from time to time, near Hutchinson’s Field during the past two years. By 2007, when bald eagles were taken off the endangered species list, there were about 10,000, according to federal figures. “The consequence is that lead affects the eagle’s nervous system,” Dave said. Some people think that because an apple core is biodegradable, tossing one out the window of a car isn’t littering. Twitter: @johnkelly 
 
 For previous columns, visit washingtonpost.com/johnkelly.
– A symbol of America is once again flying high above one of the nation's most historic cities. “I had never seen one in my life before,” Tom Palmer tells the Boston Globe. “It’s exciting. These are American icons.” Late last month, the 60-year-old Massachusetts resident spotted his first bald eagle. And he's not alone. Reports of bald eagle sightings are pouring in from around the Boston area. "They are too big to escape notice," Palmer says. The AP reports there were 51 confirmed breeding pairs of bald eagles in the state last year. That's the most since the birds were reintroduced to Massachusetts in 1982. And it's part of a trend seen nationwide. There were 10,000 or so pairs of bald eagles in the continental US when they were taken off the endangered list in 2007. That's 20 times as many as in 1963. One ornithologist says the resurgence is partly due to bald eagles getting more used to humans and humans getting more used to not shooting bald eagles. Another says it's a sign that the waters around Boston are getting healthier, providing good fishing for breeding eagles. "Once rare and threatened with extinction, the national symbol can now be seen from the comfort of your car," the Washington Post states. But that can also be its own problem. Bald eagles are increasingly being hit by cars while eating roadkill. Last year, a 38-year-old bald eagle—the country's oldest—suffered that fate. The problem is compounded by eagles getting lead poisoning by eating the remains of deer shot by hunters. "It's like they're flying drunk," one veterinary director tells the Post. (Some eagles may also be making themselves sick by eating euthanized animals.)