Mom is wondering if her chick swallowed the last bite of fish she fed to it.
Just to make sure she checks the chick’s beak.
The chick is getting grumpy about the delay in the feeding process. Yep, seems all the food is swallowed.
Her chick says I told you so! Now, where is my next bite?
Announcement
New Webinar Series by Doc Ellen. The Lives of the Jordan Lake Bald Eagles is the first webinar and is now open for registration. Join Doc Ellen as she shares photos and stories of the bald eagles. Laugh with her at their antics, watch their aerial displays and fishing techniques. The hour long webinar includes a Question and Answer session. To register, please go here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3366948010366033166
Jordan Lake: One never knows what the next bend in the lake’s shoreline will bring to you. This time the bend brought Captain Doug and I into the presence of a merlin! I see a few merlins every winter, but, I have never seen one at Jordan Lake in late April. This small falcon calmly ignored the gawking humans and kept looking for a bird for its next meal.
Jordan Lake: The purple martins have returned and they are interested in finding a mate. Like in this sequence: the female perched at the top of the snag sure turns a cold shoulder to the questing male who is talking to, or is it at her. She looks away. She looks past her suitor. He apparently sees another female and dashes off … which sends the female off on her on. Life in the spring time is often full of such searches.
Jordan Lake: Ospreys are very practical when it comes to nest repair. They are also drawn to decorating their nests. Dad osprey is bringing in a stick for repair, but, note the lichen that is on the stick … you wouldn’t usually catch a bald eagle bringing a decorated stick home. Ospreys will bring all kinds of objects to their nests, such as extra large pinecones, plastic milk jugs, ribbons, mylar balloons and aluminum cans. I wish they didn’t have the jugs and balloons and cans available for them to scavenge. Note that dad very carefully lands the stick next to mom osprey. She chirped at him and got up to place the stick where she wanted it in their home.
Jordan Lake: I think “startling” is the best adjective for this display of a pair of yellow-shafted northern flickers this morning. The female is the one flying off to the right. The male had thought to visit with her, their chattering had filled the woods and the cove, but she had other thoughts. The golden-yellow color of the shafts is only seen when the flickers are in flight … making it a challenge to photograph them as they flicker about the woods.
doc ellen's journey 