Haw River

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By Waiting for a Fish…

Jordan Lake. First Nest. The triplets are together ~ 1000 ft from the nest. They are waiting in the flight path of the parent who might be bringing a fish to the nest. Once the fledglings see the parent heading for the nest it is a race between the siblings as to whom gets to the nest first and gets the fish. Sometimes, as we saw in the Bard video, collisions occur at the point of parent, fledgling and fish getting to the nest. Kate learned many years ago how to avoid these ambushes. Bard, this being his first batch of fledglings, is learning the hard way.

By ALL 3 of the Triplets Fledged!!!

Jordan Lake. First Nest. ALL THREE CHICKS HAVE FLEDGED! The smallest one this morning. In first 2 photos that is the controlled crash landing of the smallest chick as he got back to the nest after fledging; left wing hanging over nest brim. He was just fine – 3rd photo shows him pouting. He later took off again.
4th photo is 1st chick fledged. 5th photo, courtesy of Captain Doug, is biggest of triplets, fledged yesterday. Whew! Yay!!!!!

By Osprey vs Great Blue Heron

Jordan Lake. Dad Osprey definitely didn’t want the great blue heron to get anywhere close to his nest with mom and newly hatched chicks. As is usual in confrontational situations, the parent bird really doesn’t want to make contact because it does not want to get itself injured. It is better to bluff and threaten. The great blue heron made it safely past the osprey nest. Dad osprey landed triumphantly in the nest with his mate and chicks.

By Eaglets Branching!

Jordan Lake. First Nest. Two of the three triplets have branched. When a bald eagle chick branches it jumps / hops / half flies to a branch above the nest. They use the nest as a safety net below them. This is the last practicing step before they fly! Look for the 2 sets of yellow feet on the branch above and to the left of the chick in the nest.