birds

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By Jordan Lake Natural Temperature Gauge

Here is a prime example of my father‘s favorite kind of temperature gauge. I photographed this red shouldered hawk yesterday morning when the wind chill factor was 35°F. Even if I had been sitting in my warm truck, I could have glanced over at this hawk and known that because he is almost as big around as he is tall … the air is cold. He has all of his feathers fluffed up as a nice warm blanket. Also note that he’s got his body lowered so that his feather blanket is mostly covering his feet … just like our warm winter slippers would do.

By Pied-billed Grebe Toes

Jordan Lake: Pied-billed grebes are a winter visitor here. They come down and spend the colder months with us. What I find really neat about the pied-billed grebe is, that like all grebes, it has feet where each toe has a lobe surrounding it. These lobes make the foot look like a tree leaf as you can see here in this photo. This makes the little grebe a very fast underwater swimmer as it dashes about catching fish and crustaceans for its food. I always smile when I see these grebes because they sure look like they are shyly smiling at the world.

By First Nest Bald Eagle report

Jordan Lake: Kate and Petruchio, like all bald eagle mated couples, go through the rituals of courtship every year as a way to affirm their relationship. Here you can see Petruchio (closest to you) and next to him is Kate. They are talking loudly to each other… bald eagles love to chatter! Also note that Kate (as is true of all bald eagle females) is much larger than Petruchio. This is the beginning of this year‘s courtship. I surely hope that I can catch more of the sequence to share, but, only time will tell us that…

By Molt

Jordan Lake: I always enjoy the plumage and beak patterns on the 4-year-old bald eagles! Also take a moment and note the uneven trailing edge of both wings – this youngster has started its molt that will end with the brilliant white head and tail and also the solid yellow beak of a 5-year-old adult.

By Hershey and the Red-tailed Hawk

Jordan Lake, H&G Nest Report: The bald eagle Dad Hershey at H&G nest, several vultures and a red-tailed hawk were all circling in the same kettle of rising air. For whatever reason the red tail hawk decided to fuss at Dad Hershey. They had a face off, way up in the air! They glared, made threats and then broke away from each other. Dad Hershey then dashed down to the lake and grabbed a fish that a ring-billed gull had dropped. The bald eagle took the fish back to a big branch and was happily eating on the fish when, for whatever reason, the red-tailed hawk showed up and complained and made Dad Hershey duck and scrunch down. Apparently having had it’s say, the red-tailed hawk then sailed off into the tree line. I don’t know what started all the ruckus. Neither bird has eggs or chicks in a nest. So, maybe it was just that the red-tailed hawk had a desire to be crabby. Or maybe I should say hawkish?