Bridgette Roncone Guyer was driving to Annapolis to buy snow boots last week when she saw something fly down on the side of the road.

A bit curious, she pulled over and saw dozens of bald eagles soaring around a hole in the partially frozen South River.

“It was like winning the lottery,” she said.

Guyer, 35, finished her errands and rushed home to get her Canon DSLR camera in hopes the birds would still be there when she returned.

She was in luck. She photographed the eagles perched in trees, preying on fish and feasting on their catches.

Guyer posted the photos to Facebook, where they've been shared about 500 times.

She said her 4-year-old son was in awe. “He was like ‘Whoa! They have a big beak,'?” she said.

Bald eagles have become more common in recent years, said Glenn Therres, who works for the Department of Natural Resources Wildlife and Heritage Service. They came off the federal endangered species list in 2007.

There were almost 400 nesting pairs in 2004, the last time Maryland did a nest survey, Therres said. He estimated there are at least 600 nesting pairs in the state now, plus additional birds who travel south from Canada, Maine and New York, he said.

“There's probably 3,000-4,000 eagles now,” he said.

Bald eagles hunt for fish, Therres said, but will also scavenge road kill.

Guyer called her local discovery “the chance of a lifetime.”

“I'm glad to be able share them with others,” she said.