One of the favorite spots for U.S. Park Police to man their radar guns against potential speeding motorists on the George Washington Memorial Parkway, just south of Alexandria City limits, where the speed limit is only 35 mph, is now cordoned off with a jersey wall and snow fencing.

Thank the eagles.

Last week bird watchers from throughout the area were gathering in that pull-off to observe and photograph two bald eagles that had built a nest in a tree on the eastern edge of Belle Haven Country Club's golf course. That raised concerns about their safety, not the eagles — the motorists, leaving and entering the parkway, especially during rush hours.

This concern was reported to the U.S. Park Service. Their response was to not only have the area temporarily blocked off but also to have any non-motorized birdwatcher/photographers ply their interest from the eastern side of the parkway along or just off the bike/walking path.

"We are required to have a 100 yard set-back for eagle nesting areas. We put up the snow fence which was immediately torn down by a park visitor. Hence we have now put heavier barriers in place," said GW Parkway Superintendent Dottie P. Marshall.

"Those barriers will remain in place until the nesting season is over. That is usually mid to late March," she said.

It was also explained that bald eagles are fairly hardy souls and can fairly well tolerate human behavior — sometimes much better than other humans. That was brought to light when "George" and "Martha" decided to nest in the area of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge construction while work was ongoing.

In their case, it turned out that the greatest threat was from another, presumably younger, female eagle who took a fancy to George and decided to remove Martha from competition. There has been no indication of a repeat performance in the case of "Alex" and "Belle," the present raptors, so named by the birdwatchers.

As noted by birder, Richard Gamble, "For anyone who has not yet seen the eagles, check out Paula Sullivan's fabulous photographic record at www.pbase.com/paulasullivan." It's also a lot safer that playing dodge-traffic at rush hour.

Parkway motorists should also not get too complacent. Park Police have many other nooks and cranies to operate their candid cameras — regardless of "Alex" and "Belle."