Hello Eagle Friends,
I dedicate today's blog to my dear friend, Alan F. from Green Bay, Wisconsin. Thank you Alan for all you have done for us, and for giving me a heads up on the lunar eclipse tonight, an astrological wonder that is still going on as I write this.
What a day this was. I was short on time today, however, I am a believer. I believe that whoever God calls up, he equips and orders the steps for. I can't claim that the animals came two by two, no, but the animals and birds came solo, one at a time, keepin me so busy that I had my flash card almost filled in two hours.
I know when God is covering the details of my day, and today He was showering his blessings down on me. Today, he was there with me, guiding my every moment, nudging me along, and from what I could tell he was there guiding his creatures great and small. Today was the kind of day where I felt perfectly in-sync, in his timing.
It was -33 below with the wind chill and -8 air temperature when I started my day. But the skies were blue and the air so crisp
it scratched my throat, choking me at times.
I didn't find Daedee and Dancer at their nest today during my short stay. Instead, I was amused by a little downy woodpecker
who kept circling me, letting out little calls. I only have a handful of photos of him, but they were worth stalking him.
Then as I hiked out, a little blue and white nuthatch flew into view, so I did what I knew to do, I photographed him just as he
looked up at me.
As I moved on I found Judy sitting up on her nest tearing apart a white animal. Something that looked like a duck with a white breast, maybe it was a goose? Maybe a white snowshoe hare. I photographed her as she gobbled down baseball sized chunks of "wild, another white meat." Actually, the meat was red. I was just kidding.
As I traveled to nest 6 a coyote leapt onto the road, paused, then ran full speed ahead into the deep snow covering a marsh.
It looked like it was a pregnant female, assuming tha the belly bulge was pups inside her, and not from a gorging on a good feeding. When the coyote reached a thick stand of grasses she turned and looked back to me.
For a moment, in her blank stare, I tried to imagine what it must feel like to be the valley's most wanted, most hunted, and least valued. That's what I saw in this beautiful creatures stare. Then she moved on with her nose to the snowy ground and sauntered up a bluff. It is rare indeed to see a coyote out in the middle of the day.
The trumpeter swans were alone on the marsh, except for a few Canada geese, and one white-breasted duck, a duck that looked a lot like a bufflehead. There were at least a dozen crows harassing a hawk. Finally the hawk flew off and landed just below Nest 6.
I moved on and found a female hooded merganser swimming against the fast moving current of the river. She brought my memory back to the little merganser ducklings from 2005 that me and my dogs stumbled on. Ducklings that had just hatched and were running everywhere. The mother flew close to the ground drawing attention to her and away from her little ones.
My dogs were only puppies, they didn't know to follow her. My one shepherd ran and snapped up a duck in her mouth, the other dog couldn't care less, Dani, my female brought a duckling back and dropped it in my hands, wet, but unharmed. I grabbed one that was running up a bluff and I held them until the mom returned. When she came back I set the babies down and they ran off and joined their mom. I documented them for another week, until the pond dried and she moved all the babies about a mile over to another pond.
She still had all twelve last I saw her, which was doing really well for these woods and marshes.
Nests 3-5 were all empty. I only saw one large bird, which looked like a great gray owl. I have to check my photos, the bird
was so far away I couldn't tell. But it had a wing span longer than a bald eagle, a white and brown belly, and more of a charcoal
grey and white wing coloration. I thought it could be an osprey, but the colors didn't match their coloration.
Then I found little one, the cottontail sitting in his cave opening. I have to tell you he touched my heart when he started to doze off right in front of me. I think rabbits are so precious but to see a wild one sit right by you and fall to sleep in your presence is a rare gift.
When I backtracked I found the Nest 6 eagles, Richard and Linda, perched above their favorite bend on the river. One thing
I have learned from the eagles is opportunity always comes to those who check their daily posts, daily.
Tonight my husband got back from filling my gas-guzzling truck and said, "You better get out there if you are going to
film your eclipse." So I went out and Em wanted to join me.
There the eclipse was rising above my old studio across the street. I laid down a couple blankets across my hood of my truck
and lifted Em up and swaddled her in some camouflage coats, jackets and more blankets, then gave her a pillow so she could lay down and watch the eclipse.
I was several shots into the eclipse when my brother stopped by and watched the eclipse with us.
I close out today thankful for so much opportunity, my wonderful family and friends, fatherly helpers, and so many blessings coming down from the Heavens I wanted to share them with you.
I'm looking forward to Day 44.
See you on the journey--
Lisa
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