Hello Eagle Friends,
I made my two week milestone today. I arrived early this morning and hiked back to the river. The snow was up to a foot in
some areas, which makes it harder hiking because the snow covers most of the flood brush strewn everywhere. I made it to the
river and the first thing I saw was a rabbit who went over the edge.
The whole story was written in three sets of hops. You could see where he came out from the brush, took two hops, and the
third set is a set that slides off the twenty foot embankment. Hopefully he could swim.
I found that golden eagle again. I simply followed the bantering of the crows chasing him. This bird in flight made the crows
look like sparrows. He perched in the same area again on the same bluff, and then over the two hours flew back far east.
I wonder if he is a nestling from around here.
You can bet I'll be keeping my eyes on him.
Dancer was upset that he was in the area, but he only flew around and didn't fly after him. He checked on me twice. Both times when I moved to new locations. I have never seen the crows go after the bald eagles, now the red winged blackbirds and orioles, that is a different story. So I was surprised to see these crows blackening the sky around the unconcerned golden eagle.
I remember the first spring when I started my eagle project I saw a large brown eagle out flying that same bluff. I wondered back then if it was a golden eagle. Now I'll just have to go explore further east. I'll bet there is a nest back there somewhere.
I moved onward, down my outdoor beat to find Judy, the nest two bald eagle fishing over an open hole in the river. I took a few minutes of video of her, and then a few shots and moved on to the trumpeter swans.
The canada geese had left, but I heard mallards back with them. I just couldn't see them in all the blowing snow. The temperature was -2 but it was bitter cold out there today. The temperature with the wind chills was -30, but it felt even colder because I don't think the winds stopped at all today. I know I'm wind burned and that's with proper gear.
I saw my old friend the belted kingfisher sitting low over his favorite fishing hole. Further down my path I had an unexpected gift waiting when I found the yellow belly sapsucker climbing up a tree, but beyond this colorfully-dressed bird in her fancy checker spot coat, and red hat were at least a hundred robins. Big, plump, young ones gobbling up every frozen grape in their path.
I shot at least fifty shots of them in every imaginable pose. I shot them together and singly, and I don't know if I've taken better robin pictures than today, and I assure you that I have taken thousands of them over my lifetime. I immediately thanked God for their visit. The colors, their song, their return was what I needed today to remind me again, like the faithful return of robins each spring so is the promises of my Lord.
Their appearance after what has already seemed to be a long, snowy winter, and their chirps made this cold January day in Minnesota something to admire. Fall after fall, when they leave us for a season or two I anxiously await their return, usually in January. I always keep my ears open for their song; something I will always wait for.
I found some wild turkey scavenging and scratching up the soy bean fields on my drive home. The Jake above watched me, went back to scratching and eating, and then trotted off.
I picked up my little girl and came home made up some hot chocolate and read a handful of books. I just love reading her books, but the real gift is her reading them to me.
Then I got a call from John Weiss, he's the senior outdoor writer for the Post-Bulletin, our local newspaper. He wanted to know if I wanted to go do a few shots. It was a full moon, the one we had been waiting for, and we had clear skies, and we had the fresh snow. So we met up and I shot some pictures of him snowshoeing against the full moon for a book we are working on. I really like a couple of them.
I'm looking forward to day 15.
See you on the journey--
Lisa
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