all ages of eagles and their interactions with the world around them
Jordan Lake Bald Eagle Nest report: First Nest
The chick is very, very interested in the food that dad Petruchio is studying and thinking about feeding to the chick
Much to the annoyance of the chick, Dad takes notice of something … other than the food the chick wants and is pointedly showing Dad where his attention should be.
Dad explains to the chick that watching for possible dangers comes first, yes, even before food.
The chick takes to pouting and Dad goes back to observing.
Jordan Lake: I was driving slowly near an embankment when I heard an osprey screaming. I threw the truck in park and jumped out trying to get my iPhone set to do a video. An adult bald eagle flashed through the trees. Because of the osprey scream, I thought the eagle was probably chasing the other raptor. But, no, the bald eagle was chasing double-crested cormorants. I don’t know if the eagle was after breakfast – they will take cormorants – or as eagles are prone to do, it was harassing the other birds. Not quite a full minute, but, oh boy, is the video full of action.
Jordan Lake Bald Eagle Nest report: LL&H nest. It has been quite a while since we have seen the LL&H nest. Wow! Look at the size of that chick!!! I think it is between 8-10 weeks old, but we don’t have a hatch date, so I am guessing. Almost all the eagles, herons, cormorants and ospreys were responding to the heat today by panting like this chick is doing.
Jordan Lake: to quote Mike Lemery from his marvelous documentary Pursuit – Eagles of Conowingo Dam, “sometimes you wonder what goes through the mind of an eagle”. I wonder just what this bald eagle was seeing and thinking as she ignored me and Captain Doug as though we had been noted, accepted and then dismissed for we were not food nor enemy. We were but a fleeting moment in the mind of this eagle.
Jordan Lake Bald Eagle nest report: First Nest has 2 chicks! It is a little hard to see the second chick in the second photo because it has turned its back to us and we can really see how raggedy its plumage has become as it goes from dark gray to dark brown feathers. I never call the nest chick count until I can definitely see both chicks at the same time. Otherwise, I might be counting the same chick twice as it appeared in different parts of the nest.
Jordan Lake Dam & Haw River: the riprap at the tailrace has become a traffic jam! There have been more than a dozen ospreys and 4-5 bald eagles all looking for fish. However, the bald eagle is a lazy hunter. In this case, an eagle, about 14 months old, had decided it wanted Mom osprey’s fish. The high speed chase lasted almost 2 minutes. The pursuit went from the dam to the south end of the riprap. Mom osprey dropped her fish at that point and the bald eagle went out over the playground and Mom osprey went looking for another fish in the riprap. This duel often happens where ever ospreys and bald eagles inhabit the same water ways. The photos also let you see the size difference between the two species.
