Bloomington-Normal is becoming a haven for nature – at least that’s how it seems lately. First, there was the pair of peregrine falcons that hung around town a year ago.

A nesting box was put in place atop Watterson Towers, the closest thing we have to a cliff around here. A peregrine falcon, perhaps one of the two that visited last year, stayed for awhile this spring, but didn’t find a roommate and moved on.

Then along came a wild bald eagle, who appeared to take a fancy to one of his kind who resides at Miller Park Zoo, and before you know it, two eggs appeared in a nest in the topless cage.

While everyone was abuzz about possible eaglets at Miller Park Zoo, a swarm of bees swooped into downtown Bloomington.

OK, the welcome wasn’t as warm for the bee swarm as it was for the bald eagle.

But the truth is, there is quite a bit of wildlife in the Twin Cities and it’s not all located at the bars at closing time.

Deer are abundant in our rural areas, but you don’t have to drive outside the city limits to experience “nature.”

There are Cooper’s hawks, red-tailed hawks and owls nesting in town, doing their part to help keep down the rodent and pigeon populations.

Red fox have been seen near city parks and along Constitution Trail. Raccoons and even coyotes are on the prowl.

Canada geese and mallard ducks are raising their young along Sugar Creek, ponds, drainage ditches and occasional store parking lots.

It’s not unusual to see a great blue heron, waterfowl and other creatures at Tipton Trails.

Miller Park and White Oak Lake attract a fair share of migrating ducks and other birds.

This is all part of the community’s “quality of life” and it is something residents can enjoy with little or no money.

No, the Twin Cities don’t have mountains or a seashore with which to score points on one of those “best places to live” lists.

But we do have a lot more “nature” than many would suspect, if you take time to look and listen.

We can thank a certain bald eagle for reminding us of that and increasing our awareness of the natural world in an urban setting.