Bald

C GRAFTON, Ill. -- It seems the most unlikely place to witness any marvel of nature -- the dull olive-brown-gray flatlands of the Missouri-Illinois border. And the months before spring are the worst: The trees are nothing but scrubby sticks, the limestone bluffs ragged and uninspiring, the yellow strip down the middle of Old River Road the only vibrant color.But over the last decade, in the worst part of winter, growing numbers of tourists are trekking to these muddy shores of the frigid Mississippi River.

Soaring high Once a familiar sight in the Western U.S., the golden eagle is losing its habitat. Adopted as the national emblem of the United States in 1782, the bald eagle appears on every dollar bill, but is only beginning to re-appear in the wild. All eagles have good vision and can spot prey from far away. What's for dinner? Bald eagles primarily eat fish; golden eagles eat small animals.

In more than two decades with the FBI, Special Agent Gary M. Bald always was drawn to solving complex, highly organized crimes, from mob-linked political corruption in Philadelphia to the profit-hiding schemes of Colombian drug gangs. But the highest-profile assignment for the man who this month took over as head of the FBI's Baltimore office - and quickly found himself immersed in the search for a deadly serial sniper - was to unravel a web of wrongdoing in his own organization. For the past three years, Bald led an U.S. Justice Department task force assigned to investigate an FBI agent in Boston suspected of tipping off gangster informants to pending investigations and indictments.

Bald eagles, the nation's symbol of strength and freedom, are flocking by the dozens to Harford County this month for what naturalists and birders say is an annual celebration, a giant eagle convention of sorts, with plenty of feasting, drinking and soaring with the crowd.Every year from about mid-November through early January, bald eagles from all over North America congregate on the Susquehanna River near the Conowingo Dam. They come not to breed, not to nest, but apparently just because other eagles do it."

Few sights are as thrilling as that of an American bald eagle, its fierce white head glistening in the sun, its wings spanning eight feet, soaring majestically over a pristine stream. This vision helps explain what the Continental Congress was thinking about, 212 years ago, when designating it the national bird.With some 4,000 eagles soaring over the lower 48 states, the Interior Department is justified in downlisting its protected status here from "endangered" to "threatened." This is a victory for the 1973 Endangered Species Act.In truth, this animal was never endangered with extinction.

ENOUGH ABOUT Bill Clinton's hair. Let's talk about Joe Biden's. Let's talk about William Roth's.They are Delaware's two U.S. senators. Apparently the former recently had a hair transplant. Apparently the latter wears a rug. If so, Delaware is, I believe, the only state ever represented in the Senate by such cosmetically misleading a pair.A few years ago I asked Senator Roth's office whether he wore a toupee. This was widely assumed because the top of his head was artificial looking. "No comment," was the response, so I tried an informed source in Wilmington, who informed me that a close study of old photographs of Senator Roth clearly showed that he had less hair year by year in the 1960s.

CAMBRIDGE -- On mended wing, a bald eagle named "Hope" swooped away on cue over the marshes of Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge yesterday, dramatizing the comeback of America's national bird.After four months in captivity recuperating from a broken wing, the adult female took flight immediately when released and vanished behind a line of pine trees at the Eastern Shore refuge. The sight thrilled a crowd of government officials, environmentalists and 4-H campers.Found in a Kent County farm field, Hope was set free at a news conference held by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to announce that eagles have recovered enough from pollution, hunting and other abuses to be upgraded from "endangered" to the less dire category of "threatened."

In a hot, packed gym in Cape St. Claire yesterday, host Broadneck got hot on defense and at the free-throw line in the final 1:23 to deal rival Severna Park a 57-51 loss in boys basketball. The No. 12 Bruins (11-2), who trailed 34-29 at the half, outscored the Falcons 28-17 over the last 16 minutes. Severna Park coach Paul Pellicani said it was Broadneck's "pressure on the perimeter" that denied the Falcons (7-6) in the second half. The Bruins made seven of eight free-throw attempts to close the game, with J.J. Hicks hitting three of four.