Jordan Lake. First Nest. Kate and Bard have a chick or chicks that have hatched. 1) Kate is very proud to be a parent. 2) Mom Kate had been feeding chick(s) below my line of sight then stopped and looked very hard at her youngsters. It will be a while before we actually see the chicks.
Jordan Lake. We have not seen Dad Pitch or Mom Loblolly in their nest for a week. No eggs in the nest. Have not had a recent closeup of Pitch to know how his injury is doing. All of this means that this breeding season for this pair of bald eagles has ended without any chicks. I honestly do not know why there were no eggs laid: some possibilities could’ve been marauding immature eagles or the injury to Dad Pitch or interference caused by visitors or a combination of those or other factors. If I see Dad Pitch again close enough to know how he is doing I will definitely let you know. In the meantime we can all hold onto our thoughts, prayers and meditations for the next breeding season starting in December. Thank you again for all your love, concern and vast amounts of energy, in so many ways, in your efforts to provide Loblolly and Pitch the best of protection by trying to get the gate to shelter eight closed. Peace and grace, Doc Ellen
Jordan Lake. Shelter 8 nest. Dad Pitch has an injured left foot; it is very swollen. I don’t know how it was injured. There are several possibilities for the damage – following are thoughts from my veterinary point of view but, I stress, are not proven data in this case and are not in any particular sequence of importance: 1) the foot was caught in fishing line and that has stopped circulation within the foot 2) Pitch damaged the foot in a fight with a marauding immature bald eagle 3) Pitch was startled by visitors and in turning away to leave the area caught his foot in the fork of a branch and twisted the foot. Any of these things could have happened separately or together as part of an accident. This injury may be part of the reason why there are still no eggs at Shelter 8.
Jordan Lake. Oh my! A bald eagle CHICK! This is the first chick I have seen this season. The 4-5 week old chick is located at the Mystery Nest. For a long time we were not sure if this new nest was going to be occupied. To locate the chick: go to the right from mom eagle until you run into the big branch sticking out at you, then look for the black beak of the chick above the nest brim. I think there may be a second chick just to the right of that big branch.
Jordan Lake. Shelter eight nest. Still no eggs. This is mom Loblolly. Yesterday Captain Doug and I had the opportunity to watch her for a while. One magnificent bird!
Jordan Lake. Still no eggs. Gate is open. The photo is a four-year-old bald eagle. It is one of a couple of juvenile eagles that have been testing Loblolly and Pitch’s territorial limits at their nesting site. This is a normal behavior for immature bald eagles. These youngsters will quite literally raid a nest of eggs or chicks if they get a chance. Loblolly and Pitch are having to defend their territory against these intruders and also cope with visitors in the parking lot.
doc ellen's journey 