Day 160, Monday, 6/16/08, Year Four Dancer & Daedee: Snow Falling on Eagles

Hello Eagle Friends,

It was a gorgeous Monday in the valley with the temperatures remaining in the mid-seventies.

I found no activity on nest 7.

I spent a long time at nest 1 with the twins because I know these are the last days before the real work begins trying to find them in the thickness of the fields.

They cried, endlessly for food but neither parent came in. Still, I enjoyed watching them practicing their flights back and forth from the nest. Daniels Charlie had all intentions of flying off the nest, you could literally see the desire in his expression, but he stopped himself every time by looking down.

I don't blame him, I can hardly imagine what thoughts must swirl through their minds when they come to the edge of all they know and have trusted their entire lives. He though a glance at me, I think he did that so D'ODEE would not think he chickened out. Of course, that's just me putting my thoughts on the situation.

As the sun started going down quickly, I decided I better hike out so I would have time to shoot pictures of the other nests.

I had barely made it past the gully when I heard the deafening screams of the eaglets, the one that echoed "dinner is here" my entire hike back to my truck. I was going to go back and shoot, but I followed my gut instinct to head out.

On the highway, sunning himself in the last ray of sun hitting the asphalt was a 8 inch long, red-bellied snake. I bent down and picked him up off the highway. "I've seen three of your siblings run over in that same spot this month--not a good place to sun bathe."

I know he didn't really understand me, but at least he didn't bite me.

I moved on to nest 2 and to my surprise I found Terry Gail on the nest. I know--I said she did, and I thought she did, and I can only go off my observations of each day. I didn't actually see her in the grove of trees, it only sounded like she was there. Maybe she returned to the nest. They always do. So I really don't have an explanation for Terry's reappearance, other than I was wrong in my observations of yesterday, or I was right, and she had simply returned home for food.

The sun was going down fast and I was shooting the scenes as fast as time allowed. I stopped by a noticed the hundreds of pepper sized tadpoles swimming so carefree all along a long puddle that would soon dry up. Who was I to tell them they were
in danger?

I moved on to find the twins up on nest 6. Not much else going on, except for the sudden hatch of a zillion biting-gnats, wedging their way into my eyelashes, taking what bites they could steal off me.


At another marsh the young Canada goose goslings were all sitting up on the muddy embankment watching the sunset and somehow blinking away those awful gnats. The always on guard parents allowed me to take a few images of their ever changing gosling's who are about 9-10 weeks old now.

At nest 5, I found a yellow caterpillar twisting and turning one leg over the other, and after observing him for awhile, I left not really sure if he was coming or going.

The twins were up on the nest, but sitting so still it took the wind to shake them into raising their wings.

At nest 3 Victory Bell was tearing at something he was eating in the nest. Nothing was going on at nest 4.

As I left the valley I decided to shoot one last image of the rising moon over the valley so dear to my heart.

I'm looking forward to day 161.

See you on the journey--

Lisa