Hello Eagle Friends,
Today was a scorcher. It was 79 degrees when I left the valley with my newly-reddened skin tones. The thunderstorms didn't start until late afternoon, so I'll deal with those tomorrow. Today was a perfect spring day. Sunny skies, a brisk wind just when
you needed one, and a valley full of singing warblers, and the orioles arrived today with the little purple, creeping charlie flowers.
I found no activity on nest 7, and then I headed straight for nest 6. Linda was up on the nest there, and I do think the nest mound 1 geese have hatched, they just haven't moved off their mound yet. The male was standing beside his female while I was there.
There were white pelicans scattered across several marshes and every day I count it a blessing to see them for I know their departure is unexpected.
I found the nest box 5 geese swimming with their little ones, I guess they only have six, it looked like more yesterday as the little ones swam in and out of their parents. Another pair's geese hatched by them and I enjoyed watching them pass one another.
There appears to be a ritual while passing other geese with goslings. The parents lay their head stretched out on the water, that is a signal to their goslings that they can look at the passing goslings, but they can't play with them. Somehow the babies
know to stay close to their parents.
I moved on to nest 5 and found the mom above the nest with sleeping twins below. I shot a few scenics, and moved on to nest 3 and 4 where I found the backlit nest 4 a scene I wanted to capture. The little green leaves coming out around the nest, and the parent on top with an eaglet to the side was just one moment of millions more that will belong all to that nest. I left thankful for this one above.
Nest 3 mom was laying deep down on the nest or away as I could not see anyone on the nest. I photographed the goose on her box, the controlled burn goose day 23. Then as I was leaving I saw the geese with the three goslings. All had survived their
first four days. I was a little worried when I had not seen them the last couple days.
I met up then with Cy Dodson the journalist from Ron Schara's Minnesota Bound. We went out to nest 1 and spent the morning and first couple hours of the afternoon with Daedee and Dancer.
Daedee was on the nest when we arrived and D'ODEE Brian Michael was sitting next to her in the shade with his mouth open. The temperature was 76 when I left my truck, and it continued to rise while there, another 3 degrees.
The orioles arrived today with their entrancing song. As I was photographing Daedee and D'ODEE, an oriole came in next to them on a branch and Daedee and the baby jolted back at first at his approach and then they watched him feeding on the cottonwood buds on a dangling branch.
I'd have given him an entire bucket of seeds if he would have just broken that dangling branch from my view. That one cuts me out of more shots than you can imagine. Every year more branches dangle down over the nest, making it harder to shoot pictures through the leaves. Of course, it also provides great shade for those little ones which is more important than a shot I can get another day from another angle.
Cy interviewed me for awhile and then a helicopter passing over caught Daedee's attention, which caught mine. I wish I knew what they thought of these flying machines around their nest area. All the eagles watch them attentively, and full of curiosity as the above picture shows.
Daedee flew off and did her around the area search and Dancer finally made his appearance around 13:30. He flew around and both eagles seemed to be watching or fending off something, but all I saw was a red-tailed hawk, who is out there every day. A threat, yes, but not so much that they both come in.
I looked for an immature eagle from last year, but I didn't find one. The twins slept the entire time we were there after those first initial shots. That is just how it is out there. Some days you wait hours in the grueling heat and the muggy air, with ticks crawling up and down your legs, and flies biting at your neck. You kneel down now, but stand later in nettles that burn your knee caps while you kneel and burn your eyes as you stand.
Then an eagle flies by and the whoosing sound of their wings makes you forget all that you fretted over, and you focus only on what flies ahead. That's what the eagles have taught me, and I'm only 119 days into this year's project.
Cy and me hiked out and as we were ready to hit the "dusty trail" up north to nest 2, a man was waiting on the road for us full of questions. I chuckled because I told him in my interview people will do that. They'll come here wanting to know how the eagles are, what they are doing, what happened today; they are curious. Some are too old to hike back, others can't see even with new glasses and binoculars. Some leave letters, others notes of encouragement or thanks.
I told him, just in case that part gets edited out, The folks in the surrounding area, Plainview, Wabasha, Kellogg, Winona, Elba, Altura, St. Charles, Rochester they are some of the most wonderful people you'll ever meet. People who really care about a person, their place and look for hope in every message I bring out. This story is their story too.
I love those people in that valley. They are everything an American Eagle is raised to be.
I'm looking forward to day 120.
See you on the journey--
Lisa
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