Hello Eagle Friends,
Today was an exceptional weather day again. It was overcast, with thunderstorms looming in the distant horizon, but a fairly nice 58 degrees with a brisk wind.
Even better than the weather, I had the honor of sharing my day with Photojournalist Chuck Sibley, and Reporter Meghan Sparks from KTTC. They were with me filming our last segment on Daedee and Dancer's nest and my eagle journey. The eagle journey story is airing Monday, 5/19/08 on their 10 PM news.
I covered all my other nests first before meeting up with Chuck and Meghan.
I found no activity on nest 7 or 8. In fact, I don't know if I'll even see nest 8 again. The foliage has blocked almost the entire view now.
On nest 2 I found no activity at first. Then a red-tailed hawk flew off a tree that was less than 50 feet from Terry Gail, the 5 week old eaglet. I feared the worse as I watched white down fall as he flew off.
Then Judy appeared. She landed on the tree trunk and then hopped down the branch backwards into her nest. She began uncovering her eaglet from the grasses she had on top of it. This is the only eagle I have watched doing this covering up her eagles with grasses.
I moved on to find my old marsh project was being remodeled even more today. This is the marsh I did my 580 day documentary, and my Winter Bugs! book (published Dec. 2006), and the summer flood of 2007 washed the marsh away.
I hardly found any geese out with their gosling's this morning. I found the controlled burn goose box family. They were down from 10 to 4 gosling's in under a weeks time. The poor little one's most likely met a savage death.
I could not see only a portion of the white head on the eagle nest 4. Nest 3 eagles were not on their nest, but one was flying over the goose family and I hardly wanted to watch what I feared may take place.
Those parents led their remaining gosling's into the reeds just in time and the eagle moved on.
At nest 5 I could barely see the nest anymore as the foliage has grown in so thick since yesterday.
At nest 6 Dick the father eagle was on the nest with the twins. I still am trying to figure out how much longer there will be room for all three of them up there as the eaglets are already the size of snow geese.
I finished the nests, and was for once in my life going to be on time, not on "Lisa Time" to catch up with Meghan and Chuck from KTTC. As I took the next bend I was thanking God for such a gorgeous day, and the opportunity to tell the eagles story, and praying that he'd somehow have a hand in getting the eagles to appear for their story.
The next thing I knew I slid a little on loose gravel, and noticed the steep pile of gravel going down the center of the road. I was suddenly behind a 20 mph road grader, and back on "Lisa Time."
We met up in town and then drove to Daedee and Dancer's nest 1. We hiked out and I really thought we'd get rained on but the weather held out for us. Maybe they had some connection with God, or another higher power for having a weatherman on staff?
Daedee was on the nest when we arrived at The Eagle Nest Coffee Bar & Cafe post. I kept hoping and looking around wanting Dancer to come in to give them that footage, but he was out somewhere else.
I think Chuck has more good stories than any photojournalist I know. His warm personality and down to earth heart and soul, coupled with Meghan's bright eyes and love for her work made me appreciate all the more, not only my journey today, but thankful that I was blessed to have this experience of working with the best of the best today.
I took them over to the north side and by the time we arrived there, Chuck had cured me of saying, "Look, this or that is over by that tree over there" when there must have seemed like a million of those trees to him.
Daedee was almost posing for the camera. Then when we all least expected it, one wing rose, then two heads, and the eaglets showed up. They bickered for a moment, biting at each other while Daedee watched them.
Then all heads went to the skies. I knew Dancer was somewhere near as the eagles were all watching the south, then the east, then the west.
As we hiked back to the Eagle Nest Coffee Bar & Cafe, Chuck stopped to get one more shot of Daedee up on the nest. "Chuck, get ready!" I called out. "Dancer is coming in right behind you."
Dancer, hardly ever challenged by the winds landed with absolute perfection on his branch, one of several that he uses on the nest tree for his upper viewing of the area and his eaglets. As he landed folding in his 6-7 foot wings span; collapsing with precision the thousands of feathers that lift those wings to his sides.
During that same moment Dancer landed, from The Eagle Nest Coffee Bar & Cafe view we watched The Dancer descend as his life long mate, Daedee unfolding her wings, jumped high clearing two four week old eaglets below and lifted up into those grey skies.
Today, although all were trained to, no one held or read from cue cards, no one shined or primed movie lights, there was no time for someone yelling "Action." However, sometimes we get what we pray for, and this last scene, this closing segment for the eagle story was written, I believe by God alone as a parting gift wrapped in eagles' wings; a mysterious, God-like thank you from the eagles to Chuck and Meghan, KTTC, and their viewers, and of course another ending and parting thoughts for my daily journey.
I'm looking forward to day 127.
See you on the journey--
Lisa
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