Jordan Lake. First Nest. Two of the three triplets have branched. When a bald eagle chick branches it jumps / hops / half flies to a branch above the nest. They use the nest as a safety net below them. This is the last practicing step before they fly! Look for the 2 sets of yellow feet on the branch above and to the left of the chick in the nest.
Jordan Lake. First Nest Victory Duet. Bard is worried because Kate has gone to chase an intruder out of the cove and he also has a fish under his foot he needs to get to his chicks. When a bald eagle couple vanquishes an intruder they often sing a Victory Duet. Bard and Kate sing when Kate returns to the branch. These pairs often throw their heads back, pointing beak straight up and tell the heavens about the victory. Watch Kate literally shake with her song.
Jordan Lake. First Nest. Dad Bard is hunting on the ground. I don’t know what he found. Most likely a small bird or small mammal. He took it to the nest. Watch the reaction of the three chicks as they see Dad coming in. Everybody piles in on Dad’s feet. He manages to stay up right. At the end you can tell by which way dad and two of the chicks are looking to the left who got whatever the food was. What a melee.
Jordan Lake. First Nest. Mom Kate is headed for the nest. She is carrying what appears to be the remains of a carp. She and Bard are almost on a continuous loop: drop off a fish and go catch another fish and get back to the nest … the chicks are growing fast and demanding more fish!
Jordan Lake. First Nest. Dad Bard landed in the nest with a small fish. All 3 chicks were watching his feet. They knew where the fish was. Then there was a shoving match to see who would end up with the fish. It was Big Chick that won the fish. All three chicks are doing well. Arrows in first photo point to the 3 chicks.
Jordan Lake. First Nest. The chicks this morning were doing a lot of wing wapping and trampolining. The biggest of the chicks was certainly hogging most of the space much to the annoyance of the other two chicks. The big chick was getting a lot of vertical air between its feet and the nest!
doc ellen's journey 