bald eagle parent

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By JL moment …
I know you have had that feeling: you just know you are being watched …
I slowly turned my head.
Less than 100 feet from me Hershey was perched.
The photographer was the one now being observed.
As I steadied my hands for a shot I was sure would not soon be repeated, 
a fisherman came down the slope behind me and Hershey glanced past me.
I pressed the shutter button and Hershey lifted off the branch and was gone.
Sigh.

By size doesn’t matter!
When you have babies in the nest, 
your size and that of the potential predator doesn’t matter.
The parent eastern kingbird felt Hershey flew too close to the nest.
The small bird escorted the bald eagle all the way across the cove.
Hershey simply ignored the much smaller kingbird.
 
Size reference: the king bird is about the size of a robin.

By JL Eagle Nest reports: 2 nests, 5 photos 06/01/2017
H&G Nest
 
Hershey and Godiva were shuttling back and forth past me.
I am not sure what they were hauling – fish or otherwise…
I could hear their fledglings calling each time as the parents came into sight.
 
Hershey on his way to the nest with food tucked up against his tail.
 
Hershey with his second batch of food.
 
Godiva on her way to what ever the food source was…
I didn’t manage to get a shot of her with some of the meals – she went past twice.
 
LL&H nest
 
What a joy this morning to be able to see Heritage!  
Lady Lake wasn’t with him but hopefully she wasn’t far away.
 
I know that either Heritage and/or Lady Lake have visited their nest.  
I hope they repair it for next breeding season.
Heritage going past.

By UPDATE on 3 Eagles + 1 Osprey
I have had several delightful questions sent to me about my video.
I thought I would share my answers here with photos from the critical points:
1. The little male osprey caught a very, very large fish.
He has it tucked against his chest as he muscles the fish up.
2. It took several tries for the osprey to lift the fish from the water.
3. The osprey got some altitude and was making the bend toward his nest when he saw the eagle heading for him.
4. Bald eagles make a habit of stealing fish from ospreys … so the osprey tried to up his speed but…
5. Out of the cove to the osprey’s right (regretfully I didn’t get the osprey in the frame)
came a second bald eagle and the osprey dropped his large fish (you can see the splash).
Two eagles are not good odds for an osprey to face.
6. One of the bald eagles made a dash for the fish.
7. The fish was so large that the eagle was having trouble getting out of the water (don’t worry, eagles swim well).
8. While the first bald eagle was trying to get out of the water,
the second bald eagle made an attempt to harass the first eagle into abandoning the fish.
9. Bless his heart, the little osprey tried to get back his fish –
he’s in the upper left of the photo and was easily missed in the video.
The osprey gave up the chase and the fish.
The first eagle finally cleared the water without the fish.
10. Out of the back cove, Hershey dashed in (sorry about the focus) and grabbed the fish. Whew.
11. Hersey makes the mad dash for home.
And, THANK YOU for all your wonderful responses to my efforts with the Jordan Lake Neighborhood series!!