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.
Jordan Lake Bald Eagle Nest report: First Nest
Uh oh, Dad Petruchio and no chick!
Oh, my! Now look at Dad Petruchio and a chick to his right, at the nest brim. The chick is facing to the left.
You can see the almost white-colored chick stretching up towards his Dad’s tail while Dad is pulling a piece of fish free to feed the chick.
Dad has a bit of fish in his beak and is reaching towards his chick.
Dad gently gives the chick a bite of fish.
Sometimes, it takes a “not-seeing” moment for me to realize in the next blink, that I am “seeing” something. For instance, that is Kate standing in her nest. In the 1st photo, look between Kate’s left shoulder and the tree branch and note the empty space there. In the second photo, a small darkness has appeared in that same gap. In the 3rd photo the darkness has become one of her chicks! In the 4th photo, the chick has disappeared again. Neat sequence of Kate’s approximately 5-6 week old chick peeking past her shoulder.
doc ellen's journey 