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Hello Eagle Friends,
Today was a wonderful day in the valley. I saw 10 adult eagles and one eaglet. It was 9 degrees when we arrived and sunny. Em and Dave came with me because they wanted to see the eagles, and come with me to the events after I did my speech today at The National Eagle Center's Soar with the Eagles Festival. I'm glad I selected the 3 PM slot. Not only did I get to meet many wonderful people, but I had enough time to do my eagle projects without cutting the project short.
We barely had the truck parked and Em threw on her boots and hiked out with me. When we reached the gully post I turned on the video camera to do my opening segment, but the camera (the one that got knocked on the highway yesterday), wouldn't turn on. In fact, it stole my video tape and is refusing to give it back. I have full intentions of taking a screwdriver to it tomorrow and taking my tape back.
Daedee, the mother eagle, was up on the nest for their day 5 incubation. I could see her peeking through the sticks just like yesterday. I didn't see Dancer but he won't leave Daedee to incubate all alone. He was out there; I just couldn't locate him.
I hiked back out with Em, and then I hiked back in with my spare video camera and filmed some footage for today. It doesn't seem possible that I have been on this project for 60 days already. The blessing are too numerous to mention, but you've seen some of those blessings, a storehouse of shots in this blog.
I just keep praying, and I hope you'll consider me in your prayers, too, that I'll have the endurance to finish this project, and that the cameras hold up, and my truck doesn't break down. I think I'm good on flash cards and camera batteries.
We moved on to nest 2 and I'm quite sure it was the male, The Mayor up on the nest. He was vocalizing, he does that every time he is on the nest. I've tried staying in my truck and shooting and getting out. I've determined it isn't my presence, but that of the crows or his mate, Judy, that he calls out to.
When we reached nest 6 I found an eaglet flying above the bluffs, and Dick, the male eagle flying with him--leading him out. The eagle went up and around, and then down to its old nest. I didn't see Linda on the nest, but that will all change this next couple of weeks. The eaglet remained for about fifteen minutes.
As I was putting my camera down that's when I noticed Linda perched in a bare tree looking up at her eaglet, one I am sure was her 2007 eaglet. Since no one has seen that nest before me that I have talked to, I have good reason to believe that eaglet was possibly their first eaglet.
Nest 5 was sitting on their nest for day 10 incubation.
Nest 3 had an eagle working on the nest, and the eagles' mate was a half mile south sitting in a dead tree. While I took Em out
for a snail hunt, he called out a couple times to his mate.
Em was happy to have a few new pet snails. I think it is wonderful to let your children explore natures' gifts. Do you know that something as small as a snail can put a smile on a child's face and make them curious about their world. That curiosity grows into more questioning and taking a deeper looking into our world. I wish I had a snail for every child in this world.
I couldn't tell for sure if an eagle was sitting on nest 4 or if what looked like an outline of an eagle head was just a thick bend of the branch. The mate was in their sitting tree. The dead petrified tree a quarter mile south.
I didn't find the rabbit in the cave today and I didn't find the opossum.
We left and headed to Wabasha, Minnesota, for The National Eagle Center's Soar with the Eagles Festival. The place was packed with wall-to-wall visitors. I shot several pictures of the guests and programs that were going on for their upcoming photo needs on their Web site and PR materials.
As I came back in and headed upstairs for my speech I was met by a photographer popping a flash at me, and I kind of ducked out of his way, but he kept shooting me. I started wondering why this photographer kept shooting at me. Then he lowered his camera and I started laughing. It was John Weiss, the senior outdoor writer for the Post-Bulletin and his wife Debbie.
He was in search of the owl program for his article.
I met so many wonderful people today, and for those of you who are reading this now, and were one of my guests today I want to personally thank you. I enjoyed your questions and I appreciate your interest in the eagles, and my project. If you have more questions, or didn't get a chance to talk to me afterwards, please email me at lisaseagles @ gmail.com-- but remove the space before and after the @ sign. I put those in to keep my email off the spammer's email lists. Thank you all for your time listening to my wildlife stories, and your support of what I feel is a valuable project.
It was a long day, so we opted for pizza after all the activities in Wabasha. On the drive I began munching on chocolate covered raspberries we found at this great little chocolate shop--which just happened to be connected to the pizza place--called The Chocolate Escape, and escape I did with a bag full of treats. There we were half way home and I planned to go to my studio, download my work, back it up, finish this blog and jump into bed before midnight tonight. That was my plan, my hope, and my realistic goal. About a second after I conceived the thought of a full night of sleep Dave said, "Don't forget we have to set the clocks ahead tonight."
Thank you all for your time today, for visiting the eagle center and supporting what I personally feel is one of the most important educational centers in this country.
I'm looking forward to day 61.
See you on the journey--
Lisa
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