Jordan Lake Dam, Haw River: Dear Momma Osprey! Welcome back to your breeding home here at Jordan Lake. You are always my reliable signal that Spring is just around the bend. What a tremendous flight you have taken … more than 3000 miles from South America to North Carolina. I am glad you had the endurance and good winds to get back here again!
Jordan Lake Dam, Haw River: Sometimes, the 12-year-old heart of me just has to play with a photograph and find new ways to see bald eagles. Such as this 2-year-old bald eagle at the riprap this morning, in all the fog. I hope the changes let you see the concentration of the youngster as he aims for just the right branch for his landing.
Jordan Lake Dam, Haw River. The morning was grey and a little chilly. All of a sudden a bright sportster arrived! Our smallest falcon, the American Kestrel. He zipped in, landed for a heartbeat and zipped out over the dam. Whoosh! I worry about the kestrels as their reproductive capacity has dropped in the last 10 years or so, due to herbicides and pesticides. If you should spot one, would you send me notification of date, time, gender and a crossroads? I have been trying to get a sense of how many are still here in NC. I used to see them on the fence lines and power lines on a daily basis … now I am seeing them a couple of times a year.
Jordan Lake Dam, Haw River: Valentine’s Day 2021. Sometimes I glance away from the birds and find that the environment that is Jordan Lake has both a surprise and a delight for me with a natural message … a blessing for all of you and me too with a heart that is 100% Creator-sculpted.
Jordan Lake Dam, Haw River: the weather was changing this morning at the riprap, getting grayer, cloudier and wind was starting to pickup. All factors that stir eagles into fishing and fighting. Eagles get a charge out of knocking each other off of a branch. The two-year-old on the left was happily minding his own business when a 3-year-old decided it wanted that particular perch. Lots of screaming and one tumbling two-year-old but no one was harmed. Well, maybe the two-year-old’s arrogance factor was paled a little bit … for only a moment, I am sure!
Help Protect the Bald Eagles at Jordan Lake! We all want to see the bald eagles and perhaps get a photograph. Here is how to see the eagles and not bother them. This time of the year it is breeding season for our bald eagles. It is up to us to protect the parents and their families. The MOST important rule is this: stay at least 660 feet from a nest – that is the length of 2 football fields. If there are ANY signs of agitation by the parents, even if you are far away, please simply leave the area. Do you know that bald eagles are very sensitive to human intrusion and will get so upset that they will abandon their nest and its eggs or chicks! Yes, the parents will do this. So, if you find yourself near a nest, please leave and let the parents have the peace and quiet they need in order to take care of their families. If the eagle isn’t near a nest, then you can approach within 330ft – that is 1 football field away. We would also ask that if you see a disturbance at a bald eagle nest, please call the Jordan Lake State Recreation Area office at (919) 362-0586. Help us keep these distance rules and you are helping the bald eagles take care of their families and giving us generations of sightings!
doc ellen's journey 