First, I want to thank you for all your kind emails and comments.
I spent the morning in the ER with my little one, but she is better now. Her doctor told me there are five, yes five, strains of influenza going around right now. I think we have had part 1, 3, and 4. If the cold weather doesn't freeze our insects it will never freeze our viruses.
Today I got a late start but in the end, I found out it was all part of God's plan to have me
there, in the valley during the late afternoon so I wouldn't miss the greatest shots I have to date of Judy and The Mayor.
I stopped in the town before I started my eagle project to make a half dozen business phone calls on the pay phone. Once that was finished I headed off to find the eagles.
Dancer was sitting up on his nest when I arrived. I didn't see Daedee. I only stayed minutes, and So I moved on to cover all the nests.
I thought the trumpeter swans had left because I couldn't see them when I arrived. A pit formed in my stomach worse than that all too familiar "empty nest" feeling, except these were "empty pond feelings."
I hope each of you gets to experience the thrill of seeing birds that get into your soul, and braid their lives into yours before leaving on silent wings.
It turned out however, that after a few seconds two heads popped up and they swam towards each other with their necks bent and it formed a heart--well, almost a heart. I was granted another day with these lovely swans.
The ducks and the geese were on high alert today. The swans were not affected but swam without guard; where ever these pleased. I don't know if the Nest 6 eagles were sitting where I couldn't see them, and likely, too close for the other waterfowls comfort, but there was no peace for them today. It was honks, warning calls, alert looks, head turning, and lastly, it was ducks and geese bolting into the air.
I could almost feel the fear I saw in their eyes; somehow it projected into me as one goose looked back at me just before jumping up and running into flight. In that moment where people and animals can see inside of each other, I wondered if he looked to me and expected me to do something to scare off this unknown threat, or did he wonder if I was hunting with whatever else was out there?
I was going along but found no eagles, at one point I asked, "Where have all the eagles gone?"
Not a robin, not a blue jay, not even a chickadee. In fact, all I found was one dead, young male cardinal who was ground into the highway.
I looked up and down the valley but I did not see any eagles, or hear the calls of any eagles. I shot some scenics and began my return trip towards home.
At least I didn't get skunked. I did get a handful of images of Dancer on his nest tree, some wonderful pictures of the swans, mallards, and geese both on the water and as they suddenly flew off the pound. Along the journey today I found beauty in the tufts breaking out of the side-lit cattails swaying in the wind, and the dried rose hips dangling off golden bent stems.
I missed my red tail hawk, "Sweetie" on his usual perch at 13:30, but found him on his secondary perch around 14:30.
As I drove on I stopped and looked up the bluff for the Nest 6 eagles where I found them yesterday, but didn't find them today.
I searched all the tree perches for the nest 3, 4, and 5 eagles, I checked the river bends, the skies, the nests a second time, but I found no eagles. In fact, I was just about to the deer carcass and was already scanning all the trees for an eagle. I didn't see any eagles on the bare trees, around the carcasses; trees that didn't even have a stray feather that may have come loose from an eagle preening.
Then I saw The Mayor on the deer carcass. He was standing there right next to Judy. I pulled over and watched for a moment before trying to shot any pictures. I couldn't believe these two birds. He would rip the deer, and she would pull out beaks full of fur.
After about a half hour she walked over to the other carcass and tried lifting it but it only rose, then fell back to the ground. She pecked at it but wasn't getting anything but small nibbles.
She sat watching The Mayor gobbling down big chunks of meat. She ran back towards him.
Immediately he hovered over his portion, which was clearly anything to the left of where she stood, and that included what ever was left on the second carcass.
She watched for another ten minutes and then couldn't stand it any more and she threw herself into him trying to knock him off. He was gentle, but he spread his legs almost doing the splits, and leaned over the carcass and thrust his wings into her.
She cried back and then he screamed. The two birds, stood side by side, face to face, and screamed at each other in a rising "Caaaaaaaaa" tone.
This went on for another fifteen minutes. Judy walked all around trying to figure out how to snatch away the meat that The Mayor was clinging to. Then something happened that I least expected. I have seen this before in eagles, but only with the eaglets.
The Mayor cried, and Judy cried back and in those calls something was said that I may not have a human meaning but what followed was unbelievable.
He walked over to the deer leg, and he lifted it up and drug it about three feet from his meat he was feeding on. Judy stood back to the right watching. Then he jumped on the deer leg and took his beak and slit the deer leg from the upper shoulder down two feet and exposed the red meat.
He hopped off and went back to his meat, and Judy cried out and she jumped on the deer leg and began to feed, ripping meat off that satisfied her fill for food.
In this years book, Year Four Dancer & Daedee: Snow Falling on Eagles, I will probably run the entire photo sequence. For you, my faithful blog visitors, you get the first peak of a few of the shots.
Eagles are not raiders, bullies, but they are contenders over a carcass or food source. However; they do have compassion and concern for their nest mates, siblings off the nest, and their lifetime companions and will not leave them hungry. They can't seem to resist their pleading cries, probably anymore than our Father in Heaven when he hears our prayers and cries.
I'm glad my little girl got to see this today. I said, "Do you know how rare this is? Do you know how lucky you are to get to hear them and watch them doing this?" She smiled, setting her binoculars down, "I can see them without these."
I'm a radio guest on www.thebigwild.com tomorrow morning. That airs on Feb. 23, 2008.
I was on last fall, and they invited me back when I started my Year Four.
The irony is that the entire day I hardly saw an eagle and I wasn't sure how I was going to share this experience and come across happy about it. I had almost given up when I turned that bend and the story was waiting for me.
I say this to all my fellow photographers, writers, outdoor enthusiasts: keep looking for the story--it will be there--it won't be late.
Looking forward to Day 31.
See you on the journey--
Lisa
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