It's October in the Upper Mississippi Valley, and the weather is mild. Plucking coots and mallards from the water, the bald eagles show off their aerial antics.

Watch a sneak peek of "American Eagle" -- Coming to NATURE Fall 2008: "American Eagle" is the first HD hour on bald eagles ever.

In this activity students will create an aircraft that will compete to fly the best. Students will also create a fictional writing piece that tells a legend or myth of a raptor.

Raptors possess keen senses and maneuvering skills that have been envied by humans throughout time. The traits of raptors have long been studied for the development of aircraft.

It may be impossible to ever know exactly where and when the practice of falconry -- the training of raptors to hunt wild prey for humans -- arose.

Download wallpaper for your desktop from NATURE's "Raptor Force."

Nothing so captured John Denver's imagination like flight. In addition to being an accomplished pilot, Denver was also a devotee of birds of prey.

Follow the adventures of Pale Male, a daring red-tailed hawk who manages to thrive in the urban world of New York City.

What would it feel like to stumble upon an animal that was feared by biologists to be extinct? Russell Thorstrom knows -- he's done it twice.