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By eagle family report: Ice

Mom Kate is plainly telling Ice that he better mind his eagle manners when he gets into the nest.
Her scowl and body posture are easy to see.
I think both parents are tired of hearing Ice screaming for food – you can hear him all over the cove.
I don’t know that he has made any effort to fish.
He made quick work of the fish Kate had just brought into the nest.
And then Ice proceeded to fly to where Kate was perched and landed on the same limb and began his begging all over again.
Kate left in a hurry.

WALK2015 May 29 2015 @ 09-53-11 New Hope Kate and Ice 1

By shiners and shadows

When the lake is still and the sunlight is just above the horizon
the clay that often occurs in the lakebed reflects and tints everything with a burnished brassy hue.
These shiners and their shadows clearly stood out as they slowly swam past the point.

WALK2129 May 29 2015 @ 10-43-41 New Hope Shiners shadows

By worried deer

I was walking the Jordan Lake shoreline after the long Memorial Day holiday.
I stopped and watched when I saw this deer step from the woods.
It glanced at me and proceeded to browse the brush on the shoreline.
Then the deer saw the grill – something totally outside the deer’s experience –
and well it should be, as having a fire anywhere but in designated places is unsafe and forbidden.
The grill is an expensive piece of trash that has to be picked up by the rangers or volunteers.
The deer eventually eased back into the woods, watching the grill monster the whole time.

WALK1844 May 28 2015 @ 10-20-37 New Hope Deer grill

By eagle family report: Ice is hungry

VIDEO of Ice trying to get his father to feed him is at http://youtu.be/l5KEIkWotRs

The video is an interesting look at how tough a bald eagle parent has to be.  
In the video, Ice, the bald eagle fledgling, is hungry.  
That is him draped across the branch to the left of his father, Petruchio.  
Ice works his way all the way across the branch to his parent.  He gives hunger cries (the weep-weep sound).  
He tries lowering himself into the begging posture of a chick.  He uses his beak in the baby gesture of opening and closing the bill.  
Finally he gets right in dad’s face.  To no avail.  
It is time for Ice to begin to fish for his own food and he won’t hunt unless his parents quit providing most of his food.  
It is a hard lesson.  But necessary as 40-50% of eagle fledglings don’t make it to their first birthday because they never become proficient at fishing.
In the photo below, Ice has chased Petruchio all over several large trees, begging for food, until dad finally bails out.
WALK1336 May 26 2015 @ 08-19-50 New HopeIce Chases Dad

By calcium dose

I watched this tufted titmouse land on the shoreline of Jordan Lake.
These birds are seen and heard all year here.
But, I had never seen one pick up a fresh water mussel shell.
He flew to a branch with it, clutched it in his feet, and held it tightly against the branch.
Then he proceeded to nip off and swallow pieces of the shell.
Birds need calcium, especially during the egg-laying time of the year.
Very interesting to watch this titmouse getting his calcium dose.
Note the piece of string littering the shoreline – I picked it up as soon as the bird finished what he wanted of the shell. I detest trash!

WALK9627 May 21 2015 08-04-30 EbenezerTitmouse mussel shell 1

By eagle family report 5-19-15: Ice Spooked

VIDEO at http://youtu.be/n-T_L_44l8E
in the video: There was a loud sharp boom – my first thought was gunshot – but I quickly realized it wasn’t.
Poor Ice, however, reacted instantly. He had been perched about 600 feet from the nest when the sound occurred.
It took him about 6 seconds to get back to the place that was safest – the nest.
He was still nervous when he got there and showed it by picking at food and constantly looking about.
Notice how he cues in on the small bird passing by.
Finally Ice leaves and ends up on the perch where he had been when the disturbance occurred (not shown in the video).
In the photo below Ice is making the landing at the safety of the nest – a landing worthy of his parents!

WALK9114 May 19 2015 10-01-06 New HopeIce spooked