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Hello Eagle Friends,
Today was a shorter field day as we doubled it up with a road trip to Wisconsin to check out some marshes there. It was 44 degrees when we arrived in the valley and overcast. The skies were holding back a heavy amount of rain, but only a few sprinkles fell the entire day.
When Em and me arrived at nest 1, our White Wolf post we held up there for a bit to watch what was going on from a distance in the nest area. There was a lone eaglet that was diving down in the nest area and Dancer was called in by Daedee the female eagle on their nest.
I couldn't get any good shots of Dancer, due to heavy branch cover where he was sitting. His eyes never left that eaglet until it had left the nest area. As Dancer flew off the tree I was able to grab a couple shots of him flying to the south.
Em and me read from our Beatrix Potter Treasury, today's story was The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck. Em just loves these stories. Then as we sat a song sparrow came in and sang a lovely chorus for us. That was cut short by three teenagers out by
the eagle nest tree. You bet I watched them close.
Two of them went up to the tree, and maybe they saw me and left, or maybe they just left on their own, but there is no reason that they should have been that close to the tree; almost touching it, if they were fishing.
We left after this and Em wanted to bring her mud critters home, so we had to carefully hike out carrying these dried gems to save and revisit often in our memory box of nature's gifts. I remember having my collection of feathers, and insects, and a nuts and galls--it was all a part of learning about nature. I sometimes wonder if any of my old one gallon pickle jars remain lodged somewhere in my moms garage or basement?
We moved on to nest 2 and found Judy up on the nest. I'm hoping that by Wednesday I'll get a peek at an eaglet. I am still not sure if any have hatched, but I'm still optimistic that we will have one this week.
Nest 6 eagle was sitting on their nest, nothing else going on in the ponds so we moved on.
That's when we ran into a flock of ringed bill gulls. I loved listening to their calls and watching them dive with such precision
they made the eagles look like poor hunters. They would snap up their sunfish, fly it to the ice and stab it and then swallow it head first. There were several fights over the fish gathered and it appeared that one must be quick to ensure his morsel remain his and his only.
That's when I pulled out the tuna sandwich crusts from our lunch. I tossed them out the window and they landed on the gravel road. I wished I had thrown them into the swampy ditch, but the didn't make it with my throw. It didn't matter though. Within three seconds of the bread landing the gulls arrived, descended and had swallowed the long four inch crusts.
That was so much fun I asked Dave if we had anything else in the truck and all we had were Wendy's saltine crackers, from chili that was eaten so quickly we never used the crackers. I threw them out on the road, and once again the gulls came following my hands falling back to my side and snapped them up.
We moved on to nest 5 and found the eagle sitting on their egg or eaglet(s). By the end of this week I'm hoping to see little eaglets peeking up by the parent brooding them.
I found some red-winged blackbirds, three males hanging out by nest 3. I only had time to grab a couple shots because one of those ringed bill gulls arrived in front of me and began diving down into the deep marsh before me, but came up with a n empty-beak.
Nest 3 and nest 4 eagles were content on their nests. I don't expect activity at either of these, at least viewable eaglets, for at least another 10-14 days.
As we headed to Wisconsin I pulled over at the Weaver Bottoms and photographed a few of the hundreds of migrating trumpeter swans. At first glance I thought they were the white pelicans but as they swam around they finally lifted their heads and I noticed their long necks.
I'm looking forward to day 83.
See you on the journey--
Lisa
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