Jordan Lake. First Nest. The chick is certainly growing rapidly! The bald eagle is one of the fastest maturing birds known. It looks like this fellow is now about 8 to 9 weeks old. He is looking all about for his parents. The chick appears to be very well fed but when you’re a youngster … you know how it goes … you want food now!
Jordan Lake. First Nest. Oh my. Captain Doug and I were out on the boat yesterday where we could more easily see First Nest. On the right hand side of the nest is a chick about five-weeks-old, standing up and looking towards its parent on the left-hand side of the nest (you can only see the back of the parent that is reaching down into the nest so I don’t know which parent it is). Didn’t see a second chick in the nest yesterday but that doesn’t mean there might not be one where I could’t see it. Enjoy the growing chick!
Jordan Lake. First Nest. Dad Bard was quite anxious and more than ready to catch a fish for his youngster. He watched. He waited. I watched. I waited. We all get rewarded when we get to see Bard catch his fish!
Jordan Lake. First Nest. Yesterday there was only a little wind so I managed to get a much better video of Kate and Bard at the nest. Watch as Dad Bard very carefully shows us his feeding behavior with his chick(s).
First Nest had a visitor … one of last year’s triplets! I matched the plumage markings to the fledgling photos of last spring. The visitor was the smallest of the triplets. I have seen three times at the lake when a yearling showed up and visited its home nest and was tolerated. This is the first time I’ve seen one get closer than 50 feet to the nest! My goodness!!!
Jordan Lake. Birds molt – lose old feathers and gain new ones. Bald eagles molt about every two years. Kate is definitely shedding feathers. 1) some of the old downy body feathers are floating below her 2) see the ragged trailing edge of her wing where flight feathers are being exchanged. I think she looks like it’s an annoying process.
doc ellen's journey 