raptors

Category

By Loblolly Was Very Angry…

Jordan Lake: Big Pine Nest. This morning I saw four of the Bandits of the Gang of Eight. In these two photos you see first Mom Loblolly and she was very very angry and upset and yelling. In the second photo you can see why Mom was so upset. In the upper left of the photo is one of the yearlings from the gang and it is circling above her. Right after I took this photo Loblolly took off, still screaming, after the immature bald eagle and they both disappeared up lake. Please note that I added a little bit of blue to the sky so that you can see Loblolly better… I took these photos in between rain showers this morning, about 9 AM, and all of the photos were gray on gray on gray.

Loblolly
Loblolly to the right; intruding 1-year-old at upper left

By Gang of Eight Bandits at Big Pine Nest

Jordan Lake: Over the last couple of days I have observed a new to me bald eagle behavior. I have watched immature bald eagles raid the nests of adult eagles. Those raids have always been a one on one situation. This Gang of Eight Bandits is harassing not only the Big Pine Nest but also the H&G nest. So far, thankfully, I’ve not seen any of the immature bald eagles actually make it into either nest. But I will not be surprised if that does happen. I have watched paired adult eagles tag team when they were catching gulls on the water. I am beginning to wonder if this Gang of Eight Bandits might not try to tag team one or both of the nests. I will keep watching and praying that it is only harassment that occurs. As I have said before, this activity really puts a great deal of strain and stress on the parents at Big Pine Nest because they are dealing with both human and eagle intrusions. I have put the immature photos in no particular sequence other than the most interesting youngster is first. It happens to be the four-year-old – and it is indeed a masked bandit. There are 3 one-year-olds and 1 two-year-old and 3 three-year-olds and the four-year-old that make up the Gang of Eight Bandits.

4-year-old bald eagle
1-year-old bald eagle
2-year-old bald eagle
3-year-old bald eagle
1-year-old bald eagle
3-year-old bald eagle
1-year-old bald eagle
3-year-old bald eagle

By Jordan Lake: 2 bald eagle nest reports & 1 ghost

Mom Loblolly at Big Pine nest. I did not see her mate Pitch this morning. Neither did I see an eagle close to the nest or nest tree. I will be checking again tomorrow.

The yellow arrow is pointing at Hershey at H&G nest. He was the one that was doing the incubating this morning. He is much smaller than his mate Godiva. So you have to look hard to see him just above the point of the yellow arrow and snugged up against the main trunk.

It was pretty darn cold this morning. I was startled to see coming up off the edge of the lake, out of the water, an ice cold ghost bald eagle. She was magnificent. I always enjoy it when I get to add to the legends of Jordan Lake! I hope you enjoy this legend too.

By Big Pine Bald Eagle Nest

Jordan Lake. I found myself last night going through my photos of Big Pine Nest from this past spring. I came to this photo of the 2 chicks in the nest – it was my first sight of the chicks. I remembered saying to my friend as we gently rocked in his boat from a safe distance offshore, “oh how I pray that the gate out on the road stays closed so that the chicks can continue to thrive and soon fly”. His reply to me was “yes closed, until these babies go safely out into the world and then in about 6 months the parents will repair this nest of theirs and we will get to monitor an entire breeding season”. That conversation haunts me now. Near the end of May 2021, the gate was prematurely opened. In their panic at the sudden sight of people near the nest, the two chicks tried to fly away from the danger. One of those two chicks just barely managed to fledge from the nest and escape the intruders … the other chick disappeared. All of us are working so hard to give Loblolly and Pitch the peace they need to lay eggs this year and raise chicks that fledge safely. Please continue to share the information about the problem at the Big Pine Nest and to question those who can close the gate to the shelter about why the gate is still open. I am certain Loblolly and Pitch are sending you their thanks.