Hello Eagle Friends,
Today was a gorgeous spring day with temperatures hitting 52 degrees when we arrived in the valley. The partly cloudy skies offered numerous lighting opportunities and challenges.
Em and me hiked out to our Wildlife Study post at nest 1. Dancer the male was on the nest. Today was day 31 incubation. No eaglets today. I think we will have our first eaglet from nest 1, on Sunday. Day 33 seems to be this pairs lucky number. That and Dancer was high strung today, antsy, and that could mean that he is hearing a baby in the egg?
Of course, their babies have always hatched at trout opener weekend, so I wouldn't doubt that the little eaglets hold out until Friday next week. I'm as anxious as these sitting eagles to see and experience the raising of their little ones.
Em corralled her pet slug, Slugworth, yesterday, and I could hardly believe he stayed in his logged in arena. Then we found something we least expected. A question mark butterfly flew up in front of both of us. I could hardly believe a butterfly would be out this early, but then again, it was 52 degrees.
So we followed it as far as we could and I only managed two shots of him. Quick little flutter, that question mark butterfly.
We hiked out and moved to nest 2. We were there almost a half hour when my friend Chad pulled up. I haven't seen him since January. We talked shop, and where the photo hot spots were right now. We both were trying to figure out if nest 2s eaglet had hatched. "I shot twenty shots of that white spot next to her head, thinking it was an eaglet before I realized that was the tip of her tail." I laughed at my mistake.
Chad left to go get his late afternoon shots in the south as we headed north.
Nest 6 was on their nest, and the HQ box 1 goose was on day 4, CGM box 1 was on day 3, and the other two boxes remained empty.
I didn't find any activity at nest 7 or 8 today either.
We moved on to nest 5 and as I pulled over I noticed a perfectly poised, slate blue, great blue heron with a bright orange and yellow beak turn his head to me. He was so close I couldn't even get his entire body in my frame. Em marveled at his beauty and was glad to see one so close.
The two sandhill cranes were out preening across the marsh, and nest 5 was sitting contently on their nest.
The heron left and landed on his night perch, a tall dead tree in the center of the marsh. Those great blue herons love those five trees in that flooded area. Several shovelers were swimming all around the north pool, but they were too far out for a good shot.
I did however, get one good shot of an eagle on the big pond. He tried for a fish, but missed. Then an immature eagle flew in and perched watching the adult eagle.
Nest 3 and nest 4 eagles were on their nests. When I drove to the end of my project area I found six immature eagles on the frozen east pond hovering over scraps of fish as three seagulls pulled at the guts and flesh.
I called out for the owl who is back there and tonight he answered me three times. That is the coolest experience, far better than calling in a turkey, or deer. Calling in an owl from your own call--that is something.
As we sat on the marsh edge watching the last splash of sun decorate a long streak across the trees and the eagles sitting there a muskrat began swimming towards us. "Em, grab the video camera, he's coming right to me."
She grabbed the camera, "It's all fuzzy."
"Back it up, widen the zoom."
She's still learning the camera, but I think the day is coming where she'll be one of the best wildlife videographers in the world. She can spot an animal a mile away, and her knowledge of the outdoors and animal behavior grows deeper every day.
We called it a day and headed back to Rochester in the dark, and as expected I stopped three times for passing deer.
I'm looking forward to day 87.
See you on the journey--
Lisa
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