Year 8, May 7, 2012

5/7/2012 Monday

It looks like the storms may have taken one of the triplets on nest 1. No sign of him tonight.  He would be five weeks old this week. Em and I looked all around just in case he was blown out of the nest and still alive, but heard nothing. Saw nothing. Daedee and Dancer watched us from above. Good chance he fell down and fell or blew into the river, if he wasn't eaten by a coyote. The oldest two are doing well. Strong. Healthy.

Over the past eight years I have shot stills and video footage of eagles eating: turtles, fish (of course), wild turkey, cats, bunnies, muskrat, beaver, pheasant, wild geese, and more.

Tonight, while Em and I were documenting the eagles, I was pointing to my screen showing her the food Dancer had just brought in. However, when I zoomed in I realized it was not a turtle. We watched the mother eagle as she took the food from her eaglets beak, she was choking on the long chunk of meat, and then mom gave it back, but the eaglet couldn't swallow it. This went on for a few minutes, each time she would pull it out of the oldest eaglets mouth. Then she turned her head and I could clearly see the tiny hoof of a white-tailed deer fawn. I wasn't prepared for that.

I know they will take them. I just hoped I'd never see it. I don't know if the fawn tried crossing the river following it's mom, maybe it fell off the steep bank into the swirling river below, caught up in the high water and drown, or did the eagles take it on land? Was it road kill?

Dancer (the male) brought in pieces of the fawn every hour we stayed. The eaglets were well fed tonight.

See you on the journey,

Lisa


© 2012 Lisa Loucks Christenson/Lisa's Bald Eagle Documentary/ Loucks-Christenson Publishing