Pic of the Day: The bald eagle is so much better than Brad Pitt

Despite how much I miss Washington, D.C., I equally miss Maine. I don't miss it for the excitement or for the famous people you meet there: It's a humble place filled with ordinary but exceptional people.

I miss it for the natural beauty, the clean water and the wildlife.

This photo of a bald eagle swooping down and grabbing a fish was taken last summer, just before I moved to Florida. Considering I took it with a wide-angle lens, I was quite close to the action. And it was the only shot I got because it happened so fast. You can see the fish in its claws and the splash from when the bird hit the water.

One morning, I woke up, and an eagle was squawking atop the pine tree at the end of the peninsula where I grew up in Princeton, Maine. Each year, an eagle couple nests in a large tree across Grand Falls Flowage, the large body that connects to the St. Croix River, which forms the southeastern border of Maine and New Brunswick, Canada. And the eagles frequent the pine tree on my parents' property, mainly because its a prime perch from which to spot surfacing fish, the next meal.

My father, who is a professional photographer, and I untied and unlocked the motorboat. We took with us a frozen fish, which is pretty much like an ice cube, so it floats. Fresh fish tend to sink. The frozen one would would be easy fast food for the eagle.

Fast, indeed.

We chucked the scaly ice cube into the water, and within 10 seconds, the bird swooped down, extended its talons and snapped the thing off the surface. The birds have such amazing eyesight and power. It was just an awesome experience, as much of Maine is.

There are many great birds in Florida, but I have never seen one as awesome as America's national bird, the bald eagle.