Day 112, Tuesday, 4/29/08, Year Four Dancer & Daedee: Snow Falling on Eagles

Hello Eagle Friends,

I had a wonderful day in the valley today. The temperatures reached the low 50's while I was there, and we had mostly sunny skies. Happy birthday Michael--it was 30 years ago today I shot your baby pictures with my Minolta Srt 201 camera. I love you kiddo.

My day started off with spotting a red-tailed hawk scoring a snake in the shale. He flew the live and wiggling four foot snake to a tree branch. From this perch I watched the snake curl and coil as the hawk tore at the snakes' head and literally peeled him into hawk-sized bites.

Then the hawk flew off and perched above some cows laying in the pasture with their dew-covered calves.

I found no activity on nest 7 or 8 so I hiked out to nest 1, Daedee and Dancer's nest, and spent the rest of the morning there.
Daedee was on the nest and for the first time I could see at least two eaglets stirring about. I just won't write or confirm two until I see two heads up at the same time.

I'm getting closer. Today, I watched an eaglet with an almost solid, black beak pop up from the depths of the stick nest and tap Daedee, on her beak in an effort to be fed. The other eaglet I have photographed had a very pale beak with light gray tip.

Still, lighting and shadows play lots of tricks on the subject, so until I see both eaglets heads up at the same time, I have to say there is only one, our Daniels Charlie.

I was just thinking of packing up and heading to nest 2 when Daedee started making soft chirps. I followed her eyes, but I couldn't see what she was watching for almost another 30 seconds. I didn't even have to look, I just turned on the video camera and aimed my lens towards the tree, because those were food chirps, the eagles dinner alarm call, and that meant father eagle was coming home with dinner.

Sure enough, a moment later he appeared with a beheaded trout, I think it was a trout, and flew it in for his family.
Then he flew off to the Look Out Tree perch and watched as Daedee got up to feed her hungry eaglets.

I left and hiked out. I was making notes in my notebook when I looked up and saw an envelope under my windshield wiper blade. I climbed out of my truck and took the letter, "Friend Lisa" was written across the front of the envelope. I opened it to find a nice letter from my dear friends Dick and Linda who I named the nest 6 eagles after. "We found the eagle nest!"

I caught up with Dick and Linda at nest 6. They were looking at the eagles with their binoculars. I was pleased that they got the opportunity to see the eagles I named after them, but also how they flew in and off the nest, an extra bonus for them. "I'm glad you got to see them today, because when that foliage comes in this next week we might not see them again until fall."

"Many thanks Lisa, we are really honored that you named these after us." Linda replied.

I took a picture of them and told them, "I'm going to somehow work your picture in with that of the eagles, but it will probably take me all summer to get to it."

I found a turtle sunbathing with a duck on a marsh and I thought that was quite peculiar, so I watched the turtle staring at this feathered friend, an old wise-looking painted turtle, and they don't become that big until they are at least 20 years old. After some time passed the duck got up, stretched his orange legs and webbed feet back, just missing the turtles face; preened and then leaned down beak to turtle jaws to the turtle as if to say good-bye. Then the duck slipped into the water and paddled away.

I found the eaglet up on nest 5, and it looked like the eagle was feeding a second baby closer to her. That eaglet is 24 or 25 days old and is mostly gray down now.

Nest 3 and 4 were up feeding their eaglets too.

The Mayor was on nest 2 when I stopped there but I couldn't see their eaglet.

I'm looking forward to day 113.

See you on the journey--

Lisa