Day 173, Sunday, 6/29/08, Year Four Dancer & Daedee: Snow Falling on Eagles

Hello Eagle Friends,

Today was a short journey to the valley. The temperatures were perfectly fine with me falling somewhere in the mid 70s. The humidity was a bit much but that's just how it is during a Minnesota summer.

I thought I'd found some activity going on at nest 7, but it turned out to be a huge branch had fallen down and was draped in front of the nest. Not the activity I had hoped for.

I hiked to nest 1. The doe Em named "Cindy" followed me where ever I went. She comes in only a few feet away and snorts at me and then once she finds out where I move to she walks in behind me again and stomps and snorts. I haven't heard her fawn, lately, but maybe it was killed by a coyote and she is still looking for it. Maybe that is what that horrible dead smell has been the last couple weeks where I hike in.

Daniels Charlie was centered on the north limb and D'ODEE was on the west side of the nest when I arrived but he moved to
the west branch by the time I left.

D'ODEE is 11 weeks today and I question if they will leave this week, or wait a couple more. I just watched the story KTTC did on my eagle project (www.KTTC.com) Life in the Nest, and I can't hardly believe these are the same two little eaglets we watched pecking at each other in the latter part of the story. They were only about 4 weeks old when they shot that footage and they were covered in their grey down. Now here they are fully grown and feathered and ready to take on the skies.

The sun was just going behind the bluffs as I hiked out. "Good Night Cindy," I called out to the doe who was still trailing me.

Nest 2 was empty. I am sure that Terry Gail will be back before too long.

At nest 6 I couldn't see either eaglet, that's the way it is sometimes you see them, some days you don't. I have spent many days at nest 1, sitting the entire day and not seeing the eaglets so I think I've done pretty well on these extra nests this year considering the limited time I can give to their coverage.

I was anxious to get to nest 5. The twins are ready but won't go. I wanted to know if one had left yet. On my way I smiled as I passed a lady photographer shooting a snapping turtle off to the side of the road, I could tell from both her distance and the hesitation in her movements towards the turtle that she did not have much experience shooting these algae covered giants of our wetlands, and lately winding gravel roads.

The pelicans, egrets and herons have all flown off to another wetland. I didn't find any raccoon, unless I count the mom that was hit and her three babies. But I did arrive at nest 5 and find two eaglets who seem to have come to the agreement that if one is on the little perch above, the other has to wait his turn.

One eaglet was waiting in the nest staring up at his sibling who simply looked to the north ignoring any requests to move.

At nest 3 Victory Bell was practicing his flight jumps but my timing was so off all I could get was the down stroke of his wings just as they disappeared behind the trunk.

I didn't see any activity on nest 4.

I'm looking forward to day 174.

See you on the journey--

Lisa