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Hello Eagle Friends,
Today was another warm day in Minnesota. It was 31 degrees when I arrived in the morning and by the time I left the valley it was 40 degrees. It was overcast all day with dark skies lined with shades of gray and by afternoon there was a light drizzle to contend with. The snow is melting slowly, but it's slick and hard to walk on without slipping.
When I arrived at Daedee and Dancer's nest I wasn't there long when they made the switch. All their patterns happen an hour earlier now with the daylight savings time change. Daedee flew off as Dancer landed and she went to one of her favorite perches, the tree I call the "Look Out Tree" for she has a good view for watching her nest, and her eaglets once they hatch.
It's the same perch she has used for four years, one tree that didn't go down in the floods or windstorms.
She watched me watch her and she watched the valley. I don't know if there could ever be an eagle as lovely as her. The wisdom in her face is scrawled with fine wrinkles of skin, outlined in small feathers. Her stare, her pale yellow eyes that look
right into me, like she can read my thoughts.
I stayed for awhile and when I left she followed me out to the highway. Then she flew to the south and over to the west bluffs.
Twice in a week they have followed me out when I left.
Maybe, she thinks I know where Dorothy is. They used to look for me when the eaglets wouldn't answer them. They always knew I'd be by the eaglets. For three years this was the same story, different eaglets. I would give almost anything to Dorothy is alright.
I moved on to nest 2 where I found Judy on the nest pulling grasses in from the sides of the nest. This is day 19 incubation for them.
When I arrived at nest 6 I found an eagle perched above the nest, which looked like Linda, but I couldn't see an eagle in the nest. This is day 4 incubation for them. There were but a handful of geese preening on the ice that is beginning to sink into the pond.
As I sat watching a handful of mergansers fly off, I heard a familiar vocalization echoing through the valley, a rattly, croaky sound, a sound so distinctive, that if you heard it once you would never forget that it belonged to those lovely sandhill cranes.
It sounded like only 2 or 3 birds.
Every year, about this time they begin arriving, why should this year be any exception? I have a unique place in my heart reserved just for those sandhill cranes; after all, if it wasn't for their appearance in 2005 I may have missed this entire journey.
That is all in book one, The Eagle Nest Coffee Bar & Cafe.
I moved on to the big pond where I found over 100 mergansers, mostly males swimming with a few golden eye, and a few dozen Canada geese. There was a huge goose brawl between two geese who both demanded the same spot to stand and preen. The shot above is only a partial image of the scene. The two males jumped up and locked beak-in-beak then flipped on the ice, while their mates hissed.
It was a one of those unique moments where I choose stills over video, only because the last good brawl I shot on video.
There will be countless fights this next few weeks as each pair claims nesting box rights. I see the DNR also added some wood duck houses.
Nest five had both eagles on the nest and tree branch above the nest, this makes 14 days incubation for them. Nest 3 had one eagle on, and nest 4 had one eagle on.
Sweetie, my red-tailed hawk was out by me today, and I was glad to see him after so many days without him.
I spent about an hour shooting winter bugs. I have a few places interested in exhibiting my Winter Bugs! exhibit, so I'm adding as many images as I can find these last few days of winter. I want to work on water bugs this next week now that the ice is melting on the ponds, and I can see the critters swimming about.
I found three crab spiders that were all about a 1/8 inch long, another spider, a tiny, fruit fly sized fly, a few thrips, a pill bug (rolly polly bug), a beetle, an immature beetle and I was going to continue looking, but that was when I looked down on my camera viewfinder and and saw a flashing, "Card Full" message.
I had a spare in my bag, but it was already 13:34, so it was time to leave anyways. There will be more bugs tomorrow I can find.
On my drive out I heard some squirrels battling one another, then all ran for cover, from what I am not sure. There is a shot above of one fox squirrel leaping into the air. Although flying squirrels do populate this valley, I get the distinct feeling this is probably the only shot of a "flying squirrel" I'm going to get.
I'm looking forward to day 65.
See you on the journey--
Lisa
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