Hello Eagle Friends,
This was a perfect Saturday for outdoor recreation. There were numerous people who took to the great outdoors and did some fishing, hiking, exploring, and eagle watching. The temperature was 46 degrees when I reached the valley and the skies were overcast and merely threatened rain, but never let a drop a fall.
I spent the entire afternoon with Daedee and Dancer. Dancer was perched by me and every time a fisherman drew close, he would call out and let Daedee know, and me as well. Daedee was on the nest the entire afternoon, she fed the eaglets, and yes I do believe after today there are at least two, possibly three. Then again, I always think there are three when I am sure there are two.
She was up feeding them every hour for almost fifteen minutes of each hour. A couple of times their crying was so loud I wondered if Daedee ever tired of it? I watched and waited for that first shot of an eaglet, but still no opportunity presented itself. Two years ago I would not have had this patience.
Every day that goes by, I'm just that much closer to seeing them every day. They'll keep growing and by the end of this next week they won't be able to hide as well in that deep nest. I think we are supposed to be getting some real spring weather this week too. I'm looking forward to that.
Later in the afternoon, Dancer flew in silently I might add, I just happened to look up and see him on the nest by Daedee. It was so peaceful looking into their faces while they looked down and their eaglets and then each other. Daedee leaned in took a look at her babies and then she lifted and flew off for a break.
Dancer moved over into the nest and I could see him tipping his beak down to his eaglets, just like a father to his newborn baby, touching her hand, holding her foot, that is what I could see from the ground. A father eagle touching a beak, touching a foot, hardly able to contain his joy for his eaglets.
I left after this, and covered nests 7 and 8. No eagles.
I moved on to nest 2 and found The Mayor on nest duty there, too. He looked back to me and I just love his piercing eyes.
I didn't stay long there today. I was now short on daylight and felt rushed to get all the nests covered. I can always expect lots of activity at nest 6. Today was no exception. Their eaglet from 2007, Badger, was hanging out in the nest area causing a constant stream of vocalizations from his mother who was on the nest. The father was on guard and shoed him away a couple times.
As I was taking pictures I felt that all too familiar sensation of a wood tick crawling on me, and sure enough, when I turned my hand over there was an adult deer tick making her way to my arm. So I photographed her and flicked her into the marsh.
I was mesmerized by a snowy great egret that had arrived, the first one in 2008, again, a little early. I'll expect more of them this week. He would just stand, look down, and drop his beak into a fish and pull one up every time. He was dressed in his breeding plumage and I have never seen a bird as lovely as him.
A muskrat was up on the shallows feeding on roots and plants, not bothered at all that no less than 6 eagle eyes were seeing every move he made, and I don't know if there is any food those eagles seem to like better than a good old plump muskrat.
Brave soul that he was, he dove under the water, then came back up with more snack food.
A white pelican flew over the goose on her nest box, dusting her head with his wings, the geese were all on their mounds at mound, 1, 2, and 3. We should have geese hatching in about a week, maybe a little sooner. We'll have geese hatching for the next 3 weeks. The sad thing is, many will be eaten their first few days of life by the snapping turtles, coyotes, and eagles.
I had a blue winged teal bathing a splashing, preening and diving back in the water unconcerned by the clicking noise of my cameras' shutter. Of course, he probably knows me. Chad, my photographer friend says the animals all know me. Maybe they do, but they'll still fly. I think they know or sense I mean no threat to them and that's why they remain in my view, close view most of the time.
By the time I reached nest 5, the light had dropped my shooting to 1/60th of a second at best. I found no eagles on nest 5 and that had me concerned so I waited and waited until both eagles came back at the same time landing by each other vocalizing.
Then one dropped down to the nest, the other flew back off into the woods. Something must have been back there. In all these days I've never found both eagles off the nest.
I still couldn't see their eaglet or eaglets.
I moved on to nest 3. There was a sandhill crane walking up the ditch when I arrived. His colors were tan and velvety and his maroon crown was enough to separate him from the saturated brown and gold grasses. The nest 3 eagle was on her nest as was the nest 4 eagle.
The nest 4 male was flying past me with wet feathers and that's when I noticed an immature eagle giving him a flight run challenge. It's clear to me these immature eagles admire and forever seek to outwit, outfly, and out-maneuver their parents. I'm quite sure this immature eagle is from nest 4, probably a 2007 baby. The road was closed the entire nesting season, so I am not sure who had baby eaglets last year in the back valley.
This immature eagle had the father chasing him, flying down on him, and vocalizing to him. I wondered why two different immature eagles at two different nests felt the need to be close to their parents today. Were they curious, lonely? Did they
see their parents new babies and wanted to take a closer look?
There is a lot to learn on the behavior of these eagles and there offspring. I'm going to keep trying to find those answers.
As I left the valley I couldn't help but to stop for this shot of the white pelican on the stump. His look just captivated me and made me laugh.
I'm looking forward to day 103.
See you on the journey--
Lisa
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