I had just about the same thing happen down on Marco Island a few weeks ago. What a thrill.
A little Snowy Egret in the pond behind our camper
Marco Island is a great place to shoot bird pic's. They have the Eagles, Ospreys, Browing Owls plus all the shore birds. Here is some of my shoots of the Osprey .
I finely was able to get some shoot of an eagle in the wild.
Very good. Love the light.