Hello Eagle Friends,
Weather-wise, this was a perfect day to end June 2008. The sun was shining across the mostly blue skies, and the humidity was at a comfortable level to work in.
I found no activity on nest 7, other than the large branch that had been hanging in front of the nest took it's plunge to the river below.
It was a nice hike out to nest 1. The twins cries could be heard from the roadside, should anyone stop and listen. I had barely finished my opening notes and recordings when the twins let out a sudden pitch and within seconds, Dancer was there delivering a evening meal to his hungry eaglets.
I had my wide angle lens on my camera when Dancer came in so I have so great scenic shots of dad delivering dinner. I guess if I blow the shot up to a 60x100 foot print I could probably see D'ODEE and Dancer in the shot.
He landed on the nest and dropped the fish into D'ODEE's control and then peaked over the nest to look at me. He left and flew over to the Look Out Tree and watched the twins from there.
I did get some good shots of Dancer flying off the nest.
To my surprise, D'ODEE only rolled the fish around and seemed to be waiting for Daniels to come take it from him. Daniels ignored the food and watched D'ODEE from his north limb perch.
After awhile Dancer flew off, and D'ODEE moved up to the west perch. I didn't get many shots after his move.
Daniels never left his post, but he practiced throwing his head back a few times, which is something all eagles learn to do as a
signal to one another.
I hiked out when the sun began setting on the bluff line.
As I drove to nest 2 I saw Steve, one of the DNR workers out for a walk. We only waved and said hello, both in a hurry to finish our work or walk before the sunset.
There was no sign of Terry Gail in the nest area and it's hard to look up at the empty nest, and know that this time it really is empty.
At nest 6 the eaglets were stirring about.
When I got to nest 5 I paused for a moment before focusing in on the nest. I wanted to prepare myself just in case they had fledged. I looked and found the nest empty. Then I scanned the tree, hoping I'd find them up there somewhere. That's when one of them moved, and when I found one eaglet I knew I'd find both.
There buddied up, sharing the same short perch were two eaglets that are almost inseparable I should call them Dan and Little Ann, for they are the eagles as bonded as the coon dogs of Wilson Rawls, Where the Red Fern Grows.
I still remember Wilson Rawls coming to our elementary school sharing his tale and his book and he left an ever-lasting impression on me as well as countless others who have read his two books, Where the Red Fern Grows and Summer of the Monkey's which were both made into movies.
I moved on to nest 3 and shot the nest using infrared, which is fun to see what you can in the hills and the trees, including an eaglet who was otherwise invisible to my eye.
I found nothing new at nest 4.
On my drive back I came up a male rose-breasted grosbeak pulling seeds out of the grasses, feasting on a huge buffet of them as the sunset sliced a ray of golden light through the trees and onto him.
I found the lilies of the field in full bloom, bad lighting, but still a beauty to admire who stood tangled and growing through grasses, and not toiling at all.
Further ahead a young doe challenged me. She stomped her foot, and jumped back a few feet, then walked towards me before realizing I was human.
I'm looking forward to day 175!
See you on the journey--
Lisa
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