Day 150, Friday, 6/6/08, Year Four Dancer & Daedee: Snow Falling on Eagles

Hello Eagle Friends,

It was a wonderful afternoon and evening in the valley. We had wind advisories until 6 PM, and temperatures in the mid 70s again today. The thunderstorms are supposed to increase over the weekend and I thought the storm was moving in early tonight as I watched the dark clouds rolling across the sky while sitting at my nest 1 post.


Daniels Charlie was not practicing his flight jumps, but rather he focused on preening every feather on his wings, back and tail.
D'ODEE Brian Michael only stretched out his wings twice, hardly moving from his cozy and shady spot behind the west limb.

Daedee came circling in around 18:30, and the eaglets were looking at her talons dropping as quickly as I was, they wanted food, I wanted the shot of her lugging in a huge fish. Instead, the screams of the eaglets increased as she neared the nest, and landed on a branch at the top of the tree.

Daedee looked down into her nest and swayed back and forth on the branch while Daniels Charlie continued to cry out. He kept looking for ways to reach her. She continued to chirp soft little notes out to her kids which I believe is the same chirps she'll use to coax them out onto the limbs. She is the best mother eagle, always patient with her eaglets and I know she'll graduate these two eaglets in the next few weeks from nest and eaglets to the skies wearing newly-fledged eagles.

As I waited for Dancer to come in to do a feeding, a hover bee flew over by me dancing on the air between the blades of grass and hovering, something they do best, and then it landed on the grass blade.

Dale my German shepherd was with me. The grass is 4 to 5 tall now and I let him run ahead as we hike out to the nests and he will go about ten feet before he senses or hears no one following and he backtracks making sure I am with him.

On my hike out I somehow got caught on a branch and tumbled over a stump, stood up and tripped on another. I crashed my head into my tripod, which is not a new experience and I have the scars to prove that, but this time I went face down smashing into the nettles and then the stump. I sat up in a daze for a moment with a face that felt like it had been shot up with Novocain knowing how lucky I was not to have knocked myself out. I felt my forehead and ran my fingers over the new rise on it. I had a good lump on my head, but I have a tough head.

I looked down at the ground and I had not even noticed in all the commotion that Dale was pressed up me staring into my eyes with his ears up. Good old Dale was right there, had been all along, guarding me and making sure I was okay. I patted his head and said, "I'm okay. Thanks good boy." He gave me a look that was so precious that I had to thank God for having him there tonight.


61 day old Terry Gail was up on her nest when we stopped there. Just in the last week she has had so many light feathers come in on her chest that she doesn't even look like the same eaglet.

All the other nests were quiet today. I sat roadside watching four Canada geese guarding their gosling's in the tall grasses, eating right to that last ray of light. There were more in the shallow area of a back marsh. I was too far away for a good shot in the low light, but I sure enjoyed watching the straggler running to catch up with his family. His little wings flapping up and down opposite of his big webbed feet slapping up the water.


I hung around for awhile though and watched the deer grazing in the fields, two of them with a
raccoon the size of bobcat. Seriously, this raccoon could have a career as one of those animal models. He had a lot of personality and it was so interesting to watch him skirting around the deer.



I'm looking forward to day 151.

See you on the journey--

Lisa

Day 149, Thursday, 6/5/08, Year Four Dancer & Daedee: Snow Falling on Eagles

Hello Eagle Friends,

Today we had overcast skies and temperatures in the mid 70s and with severe thunderstorms warnings on the horizon coupled with a flash flood watch for the entire state of Minnesota.

I wasn't worried about any flooding today, tomorrow, however, may be a different story. As I work on this writing lightening and thunder is breaking my concentration
and demanding a piece of todays' story.

I stopped at nest 7 first today and found there was no activity there.

At nest 1 I hardly had stepped out of my vehicle when I noticed three female tiger swallowtails flitting across the sandy path and pausing to take drink from the earth.
What a beautiful sight it was to enjoy, photographing it was secondary.

Then a click beetle flew in and hit me and then flew into the grasses. Those beetles are so bottom heavy I'm surprised they fly at all. Every June, so far, I have been flown into by a reckless beetle who can't maneuver his own weight.

Daedee was on the nest with the twins when I arrived at my main post. The clouds had filled in the partially sunny skies and the air became still. It was so humid I sat wishing that the rain would fall quickly, but it didn't.

Daedee flew over to the north side of the nest so I hiked to my north post and photographed her sitting with her right foot slung over a thick branch above the north limb. The north limb is not for sissies.

Daniels Charlie watched his mom, and she seemed to be communicating to him to try climbing on the branch. He would stand up and flap with all his might, but he just
went up and down. He wanted to go to her. She was only a few feet out, and you just see from his attempts that it didn't seem to be that hard of a challenge, until he tried.

Seven, eight, ten tries, and D'ODEE just sat watching him make every effort to reach their mom. I gave that eaglet an A+ for effort and bravery today. He is not even fully
feathered and he is trying to fly like a ten week old eaglet.


I think it is wise of Daedee to begin their training now to teach them how to reach the perches off the nest, but if one should miss on their attempt there would be a small chance they may not rise faster than their plummeting to the ground.

I left and moved on to nest 2 where I found Terry Gail perched on the edge of her nest. I wish I was able to document more interaction with her parents. I realize
each nest and pair of eagles have their own internal instincts on how to be a parent,
which from what I have been able to document varies greatly from new parents to experienced, older and wiser eagles.

Nest six was quiet as was nest 3,4, and 5. I found a weevil on a flower and I found it
a scene I wanted to capture. I wanted that shot because it brought me back to a time
I shot those same flowers with my first camera in the fields when I was just a kid.
I think I still have those old slides, Kodachrome 64, or maybe it was Exctachromes with the month and year stamped in the upper right hand corner in red ink.

Back in those days, I waited eagerly to hand over my hard-earned $7.50 for a processed roll of 36 exposure slides which came in a little cardboard package.

When I got back to Rochester we had a surprise friends date for Em. Her friends were back in town from Missouri and we only told her that we had a wonderful night planned.
The look on her face when she saw her friends was so precious.

The kids had a wonderful time, and I got to catch up on old times with their mom, and
another girlfriend. The night went too fast and we soon found ourselves ready to turn into pumpkins if we didn't get home before the stroke of midnight.

I don't know if God could have given me dearer, truer friends. So when I was gathering my shots for my blog tonight, well, early this morning, I realized that those three butterflies gathered and flying together were a mirror to the night ahead.

I'm looking forward to day 150.

See you on the journey--

Lisa

Day 148, Wednesday, 6/4/08, Year Four Dancer & Daedee: Snow Falling on Eagles

Hello Eagle Friends,

Today was a perfect weather day in the valley. It was 78 degrees when I arrived and mostly cloudy. I brought Dale with, my male German shepherd. He was so happy to
have a field day again he laid across my seat with his head on my center console the
entire trip down.

He picked up the critter trail immediately and began spraying his marks on the others.
I'm guessing it was probably a coyote, maybe it was my lone wolf. Maybe it was the mate that didn't get shot a couple months ago a few miles away.

Daedee was on the nest with twins. I am thinking that this time next week she's going to be working with the kids teaching them how to step out on the west limb. Daniels Charlie and her preened each other, but each time she would reach to him he would come back and bite the tip of her beak.

He seemed to expect her to sit still however, while he reached over to preen her.

D'ODEE didn't care about preening at all. In fact, all he did was stand up, stretch and walk over and try and steal that fish again from under the clutches of Daedee's talons.

I know it was a fish because he stabbed a free bite and swallowed it quickly. When you are the younger eaglet, and have had to fight to eat all your life, you can probably understand why he eats first, then preens.

In two hours we watched dozens of turkey vultures circling the area. Then Dale began to chew on a willow sapling and it broke it off. He handed me the three foot tree and
I snapped it in half tossing one stick into the tall grasses.

He retrieved it and I threw it again, and again, and again. Then I threw it further out and he sniffed, and circled, but didn't seem to know where it went. I was still watching as he came back through the grasses and snatched the other half of the tree
and went back out to where I had thrown the first half of the tree, circled and came
trotting back to me setting the second half of the tree in my hand.

He was trying to convince me that this was the first stick, and by the expression on his face, I think he knew I wasn't buying it.

We left and moved on to nest 2 where we found 59 day old Terry Gail up on the nest.
She was peaking out from behind the trunk that is on the west side of their nest.

There was nothing going on at nest 6. I looked around for Dick or Linda on their favorite perches, but didn't see them there, or above the river or streams they like to fish.

I found the gosling's that are getting their adult feathers. This one in the photo was sitting so contently on the edge of the marsh that he seemed to be enjoying the sounds
of nature.

At nest 5 the twins were walking around the nest, but the parents must have been on the hunt or their dinner as they were alone, too.

At nest 3 and 4 I didn't find any activity going on. I shot a few images of the area scenes and started heading back home.

I found a few deer out early tonight. One had several ticks hanging off it's head, and bites so numerous that I wondered if it would become ill.

Then I noticed a blueish-purple flower, the name escapes me, but it is one of my favorite June flowers and there were two of them in the ditch across from where I found that first snapping turtle in the road a couple days back.

I photographed it in the flat, overcast, shadow free light, and I popped it with flash and then just with the ambient light and I decided to bring it home for Em. She wanted to come with today but I wouldn't let her with not knowing what critter was out at nest 1 yesterday.

I thought it would cheer her up. As I type it sits in a little cup of water, folded up and asleep until the first light of tomorrow.


I'm looking forward to day 149.

See you on the journey--

Lisa

Day 147, Tuesday, 6/3/08, Year Four Dancer & Daedee: Snow Falling on Eagles

Hello Eagle Friends,

We're just in from the valley and happy to report that there are fawns, fawns, and more fawns. Fawns nuzzling their mom, fawns nudging their mom to be fed, fawns being groomed by their moms. It was a cool 61 degrees while we were down in the valley this afternoon.

Luckily, we didn't encounter any rain while out, other than a light sprinkling a couple times, nothing that really was more than a sip to a leafhopper.

We started at nest 1 today. Daniels Charlie was up on the nest when we arrived. We were only there about a half hour when Daedee flew in with a small fish, but fish is food and two hungry eaglets don't think about size, only what they can swallow in one bite.

As was the case with D'ODEE stealing the fish and gobbling it down in one gulp as
Daedee watched him, not even trying to take it away. There was something else stirring
in the grasses. Something grunting, and at first I thought it was a bear, but as I stood up I saw a beige colored animal that was now to the north of us and had circled us that entire half hour.

I pulled out my bear mace for the first time this year and shot it in the direction of the animal. Something I would not of done had the animal not come in so close. It pumped about a 20 foot stream and I heard the animal rustling into the gully and then we watched all the birds fly out of the bushes, and that's when we packed to go.

A sheriff friend in the valley there told me there was a cougar in the area, and that is just not something I want to tangle with. I wanted to believe it was a deer, but I saw the animal and it was too small to be a doe and too big to be a fawn. That means it could only be coyotes, cougars, or an unidentified, tan animal that grunts.

We met a deer at the White Wolf post leaping up on our the hike out, but she was too far ahead of us to be the animal in the gully. Birds don't all fly out of an area when a deer walks in, but they do when a fox, or coyote, or a big dog or an unidentified tan animals comes in.

I kept wondering if that was the animal that ate those poor robins? I'll be bringing my top field dog, Dale, with me tomorrow. He will protect me. I wouldn't
even worry too much about it, but that animal literally followed us in.

We heard rustling and soft noises only 3-4 minutes after we arrived and throughout the time we were there it semi-circled us, finally closing the circle, drawing closer just as Daedee brought in that fish.

Em won't be able to come with until I find out what kind of animal is out there, and what it is doing. I really wanted to believe it was just a deer leaning down, but in my heart of hearts, I knew it wasn't. Too wide, too short, too inquisitive.

We moved on to nest 2 and 58 day old Terry Gail was up on the nest walking around calling out to her parents. Then she did something that I knew signaled the beginning of the departure from the nest.

She walked all the way over to the very last stick on the edge of the nest, this is where her mother sits and I'm sure will lead her off the nest when her time comes.
Terry Gail leaned down and dropped her head so low I thought she'd fall head over tail and be airborne.

She didn't fall out. She then walked to the center of the nest where her dad sits, The Mayor. She stretched her neck up looking at the perch hanging over the nest. She left no doubt in my mind that she was thinking about ways to reach these other perches.

She could fledge as early as next week. She probably won't, but she could. I can hardly believe we are so far into the season with the eagles already. The hardest
work begins once they fledge, so I'm trying to gear up for that time.

We moved on to nest 6 and didn't find anything going on there so we left.

Up the road I found Dick the nest 6 male sitting in a short tree over a small stream
fishing for a meal for his eaglets, and I'm sure a few bites for himself. The nest 6 eagles are big eagles. They are at least 6 inches bigger than Daedee and Dancer.

At nest 5 it was quiet too.

I didn't find any snappers in the road today, and that hole was filled in by cars and big trucks running over it all day. At least the one turtle who was trying to lay her eggs in the road, under the road, didn't become a pot hole filler, which is probably what would have happened had I left her there last night.

At nest 3 I found Victory Bell in the shadows of the nest. It was almost dark when we arrived. Nest 4 is blocked by foliage now, as you that have been reading know, but I still look around for the eagles to see where they are in their nest area.

I didn't find them today. However I did find an entire marsh filled with blooming water lotus and I was moved by their beauty. Things change so fast in the valley that missing one day, I could have missed an entire marsh with white delicate flowers dancing across the lily pads.

It was 8 years ago today I lost my father and when I stared into the marsh and into those blossoms, somehow their sudden appearance connected me to my dad and gave me
the peace I sought today.

As we traveled back we found deer everywhere. Suddenly there were two does standing over a stream so I paused to photograph them, and got several shots before they picked up our scent and fled.

By nest 1 this beautiful doe was standing frozen along the edge of the woods. She never even flinched as I snapped off a few shots.

As we drove to the edge of the valley I saw a young fawn prancing around and then running up to its mom trying to nurse. The doe kept stepping over the young fawn, never giving it a chance to nurse.

She was busy feeding on the edge of the woods and where ever she walked the little fawn hopped, leapt, and turned in circles biting its tail while spinning in the direction of its mom.

It turns out that on the day I thought I'd find it difficult to find beauty, a day I'd be wrapped up emotionally in the loss of my father's passing, that in seeking peace I stirred up good memories of our time together, and the animals, the eagles, and those
lovely flowers all had a part lifting me back to my dad.

It was a wonderful day in the valley.

I'm looking forward to day 148.

See you on the journey--

Lisa

Day 146, Monday, 6/2/08, Year Four Dancer & Daedee: Snow Falling on Eagles

Hello Eagle Friends,

It was a high 70s, rainy day today. When it wasn't raining it was drizzling, and when it wasn't drizzling everything was so soaked that the entire valley sprinkled as I walked through it. It felt good to pull out my plastic rain jacket from my trunk. For the first time since last fall, it really does seem like spring is staying.

I found no activity on nest 7.

I hiked out to nest 1 and found Daedee, the female eagle up on her afternoon perch on the Lookout Tree. She peered back at me through the clumped, wet leaves of the tall, lanky cottonwood tree. Her expression and the mood demanded this be shot B&W. That is what I shot it as. That'll be in my book, if it doesn't get cut.

Daniels Charlie at 7 weeks was flapping up and he actually lifted up off the nest, which seems early. I wonder when these two will fledge. I wonder if they'll fall out of the nest, get blown out, or just go on their own when they are ready.

The rain starting coming down heavy so I pulled out my poncho to cover my gear and shot from underneath. I think every photographer should have the experience of shooting under the cover of a bright yellow rain poncho draped over his or her tripod holding a huge tank lens and camera body while the rain pours through the arms and hood.

So there shooting in near-impossible lighting, minding my shutter speeds and F/stops when I heard a loud "Ppphhh. Phh. Phhh," come up behind me.

I don't know if there are even words that would express the exhilaration of having a doe that came up and snorted while I was under my poncho, but maybe just one word,"Oh," could lead to an entire short story or essay contest for an outdoor writer
club to finish that scene.

By the time I lifted my yellow veil to meet her eyeballs to muzzle, she was already gone.

D'ODEE Brian Michael stood up in the nest and began beating his wings and knocked them straight into Daniels Charlie. Then the two eaglets sat by each and the scene with the rain falling on their slicked back feathers was something to remember.

I hiked out and ran into Steve from the DNR. He said, "You're pretty dedicated to be out there in this weather. You must know those eagles as well as your family."
I said, "Yes, I think I do. I poured a half gallon of water out of my boots."
He said, "I better keep moving or I'll end up as soaked as you are."

Terry Gail the 57 day old eaglet of nest 2 was sitting under an overhanging branch, and appeared to be relatively dry in comparison to Daniels and D'ODEE. The light was fading fast with the heavy cloud cover so I moved on to nest 6.

I found no activity there at all. I think it was about a mile later that all the critters seemed to be stirring. I found a family of geese whose little gosling's are in their "teddy bear" stage. They are so adorable with their adult feathers coming in covering up their bright yellow down.

One goose stood up and ran towards his mom, flapping his one foot wings on each side as he ran.

Then I did a U-Turn to reach nest 5. There was a toad, the third one of the day, that I went right over, but didn't hit. I picked him up and put him on my notebook to make a couple notes. He hoped over and sat by my goose sketch of the gosling's I had just
photographed.

The twins were stirring and flapping their wings on nest 5. I shot the controlled burn area for day 50, and that's when I noticed three Baltimore orioles; two of them males, chasing the female.

The wildflowers were so vibrant going up the bluff, unfortunately the light was so dim it didn't offer the conditions I wanted for capturing their beauty.

As I was driving down to nest 3 & 4, my eyes caught sight of a large object in the middle of the highway. I figured it was a woodchuck drinking rain water out of the gravel, but as I neared the critter I could clearly see trouble.

I pulled over and stepped out of my truck and walked around the 2 foot snapper. She had both hind legs deep in a hole she had carved under the gravel highway. She reminded me of four or five foot snapper I found years ago up north digging a hole in the sand.

I didn't know how I was going to move this turtle, but even with the night traffic, minimal I didn't want to leave her at the mercy of the next vehicles' driver swerving to miss her in the dark.

I looked around for a big stick, but found none. So I reached in and took my tripod out. I figured she'd bit it and I could drag her. My plan worked. It took a couple tries but she allowed me to pull her off to the side of the road.

One she was safe I went back to bury her eggs, if any. I looked into the hole, then reached down under the highway and felt around, but there were no eggs.

I shot my nest 3 and 4 pictures, and found no eagles up or out flying. I did find a serene looking white flower that towered over the marsh by nest 4. That flower had so much peace waving around in the wind, that it made all the rain of today worth every drop.

I headed back, ready for dinner and maybe even a cat nap as I was feeling the day with all the activity and extra duties put on me this past few days. I was enjoying watching the fog settling across the road, the valley, the bluffs and was just thinking about pulling over and shooting a couple scenics when I looked down and saw a large object in the middle of the road.

I knew that I knew God just does not put two huge snapping turtles in your path, in less than an hours' time without trying to tell you something.

I got pulled over and stared the wild beast in the eyes. This one wore a "don't mess with me" attitude in every ounce of it's 40 lb body, at least 40 lbs.

Once again, not a huge stick in site. I had to really think about offering my tripod again for this "turtle in the road" removal. I barely had the leg out when he snatched it shaking it from my hands with such force I almost dropped it. He was like a pit bull refusing to release this metal leg.

Then I looked down and saw a tiny one inch green inchworm, inching across this
turtles shell. That to me showed me that even the littlest creatures can walk on
the mighty shells of those kings and queens of life's ponds.

I'm looking forward to day 147.

See you on the journey--

Lisa

Day 145, Sunday, 6/1/08, Year Four Dancer & Daedee: Snow Falling on Eagles

Hello Eagle Friends,

It was hot and muggy today. The temperature was 81 degrees when we reached the valley
and pure sunshine.

There was no activity on nest 7.

At nest 2 we found Judy feeding Terry Gail, mostly taking the first bites for herself while 8 week old Terry Gail begged. She blocked her eaglet feeding with the food facing us and Terry Gail was learning a lesson about the dominant eagles eat first.

At nest 6 we saw the twins, Freedom and Soar. Not much was out for wildlife on their pond so we moved on.

We found only one twin posed sitting up on the nest at nest 5. There were gosling's swimming through thick green algae and scum and Em asked, "How do they even swim through all that mom?"

It's an acquired skill no doubt. I think I'd get tangled up in that muck before making it to the shoreline like these little four week old gosling's and their parents.

At nest 3 we found Victory Bell up on the nest, but he was hard to see as the shadows of the late afternoon fell across his nest. I didn't see any eagles flying around or perched at nest 4.

I showed Em some monarch eggs on a couple leaves of a milkweed plant and she was entranced by the beauty contained in such a small ivory oval egg. She is anxious to watch the caterpillars hatch and follow along on their journey as much as she is on the red admiral caterpillars in the nettles.

Their are about 100 water lotus that are ready to bloom and I'm sure that will happen in the next couple days. Em can't wait to see them all bloomed as it is a sight that you only see a few weeks each spring.

The damselflies hatched by the dozens and try as she might to catch one, they eluded her efforts and teased her by flying around her.

We both tried to find the a bull frog that would call out endlessly, and within close proximity to where we were standing, but he remained hidden from our view in the grasses.

We moved on to nest 1 and hiked out after watching a scarlet red male cardinal taking a bath in a puddle with a goldfinch sipping from the same puddle. That was interesting to watch.

Daedee was up on the nest with the twins who were calling out eagerly, but we couldn't see them. From the irridescent feather stuck on her beak I was sure she had a wild turkey up on the nest.

After some time had passed, Daniels Charlie lifted his head and I was able to get a few shots of him with Daedee. Then Dancer flew in unexpectedly, as D'ODEE let out a piercing scream and ducked into the nest. Dancer had a fish and the twins literally pounced on him to take it.

Daedee intervened and took the fish and offered bites to the eaglets. Dancer flew over to Riverside North and watched over his family. After about ten minutes he began calling on non-stop.

"What's the matter Dancer?" I asked the eagle, knowing he would answer in his eagle speak. He looked down in front of us and called out and that is when I noticed what all the commotion was about.

There was a doe feeding about 20 feet away from Em and me.
"Em, quietly and slowly stand up and look in front of the tripod. There is a deer there." Em did as she was told and came back down to my knee high level and whispered, "Oh mom she is so beautiful."
She's never had a deer walk up to her before. "Be still and she'll come in."
She did, she walked about ten feet from us before realizing we were people, and bolted. Three giant leaps and she cleared the gully and was tromping through the underbrush on the other side of the gully.

"She probably has a fawn out here somewhere." I told Em.

We moved on to check the caterpillar in the nettles and he had doubled in size since yesterday which didn't surprise me.

I thank God for every moment today. What a day for exploring all the creatures, their habitats, and their behavior but mostly what a wonderful time Em and me had.

I'm looking forward to day 146.

See you on the journey--

Lisa