Day 133, Tuesday, 5/20/08, Year Four Dancer & Daedee: Snow Falling on Eagles

Hello Eagle Friends,

I decided to do my project this afternoon into the evening so Em could come with me after school. The skies were blue with some clouds and the temperature was 64 degrees when we arrived.

We found no activity on nest 7 or 8.

I stopped at nest 2 only to find Terry Gail deep inside the nest with only the tip of the head exposed. I didn't see the parents on any of their usual perches so I moved on.

At nest 6, the twins were up on the nest. I decided Em could name them only after finding her drawing book and inside it she drew out two eagles and colored them red white and blue. They were so striking I hardly noticed the names she gave them, Freedom and Soar.

So I asked her after finding this book open face on her desk, "Em, these are so unique and you have done such a beautiful job on them, I was wondering if you would like to name a set of the eaglets?"

Today she asked, "Mom, is the nest I get to name the eaglets?"
"Yes. This is the one."
I gave her the honor of naming two eaglets, Freedom and Soar. As she did, the father flew in with a clump of grasses and food for his, almost, four week old eaglets.

Em's drawings will be in the book, Year Four Dancer & Daedee: Snow Falling on Eagles, and I may post them here, too, with her permission.

At nest 5 the twins were deep in the nest so I didn't see only the tops of their wings. However, the red winged blackbird pair I have been documenting there was all over, "Chk, che-che-che-chk." I knew that meant they must have laid their eggs.

I went over to peek in their nest, it's so close to the ground that even a frog may eat a young bird, given the opportunity. Sure enough, with both parents watching me ten feet away, not diving at me, not throwing a fit--because they know me after a month of seeing them daily. I saw one light aqua colored egg with chocolate drizzled markings on it.

One egg today, probably another tomorrow. I'm guessing they'll lay 3.

Up ahead there were three great snowy egrets fishing the pond edges and as I shot pictures of one flying over to a better spot, a white pelican drifted in and landed.

At nest 3 and 4 the eagles were off the nest and I couldn't see the little ones. I did however, find the controlled burn goose box family and they were down to only two gosling's.

Em and me stopped by a bluff covered in purple flowers, red columbine, and yellow dandelions. She looked so pretty in her spring dress that if I didn't stop and take pictures of her I would forever regret it.

As I backtracked, I found a large brown and white bird flying straight across the grassland by Judy and The Mayor's nest. I knew it was Damian Danielle by his yellow triangle on his beak.

The nest 2 eagles were biting at him and vocalizing their immediate demands that he leave at once. They flew him out and the picture above is shot with them about 1200 feet in the air.

I mention that because it started out at about 50 feet and they just kept rising until they were merely specks in the sky.

It was no surprise to me at all to find The Dancer perched on his guard post on the nest tree. Daedee was brooding over the twins. I can only guess that Damian had been here first, prior to visiting Judy and The Mayor's nest area. He was still about 500 feet from their nest, and I don't think he intended to stir them up.

This is the place the DNR laid out the deer carcasses all winter, and I think he was just coming in looking to see if food had "magically" appeared since his last pass.
You can't blame an eaglet for being trained to go to the food sources. Both his old nest, and now where the food lot had been all during his first winter.

After almost an hour of waiting, Daniels Charlie stretched up and flapped his wings, turned for one shot, and ducked back down in the nest.

Dancer came in and called out and he was circling something on the river bank. I never saw what it was, but we left shortly thereafter.

It was great to see Em continue working with the video camera. She is really trying hard to learn to pan and trying to capture an eagle in flight with the camera on the tripod is really a challenge left to the pro's. I can barely even do it. That's why I shoot almost any eagle footage in flight, off the tripods.

It was one of those days I've pressed more memories than wildflowers into my heart. I hope someday when Em turns the pages of our past, she'll pause at the purple flowers and remember our day 133, Year Four Dancer & Daedee: Snow Falling on Eagles.

I'm looking forward to day 134.

See you on the journey--

Lisa