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By Jordan Lake, Bald Eagle nest update: First Nest, 3 photos 11-12-2018
First Nest update
 
Yesterday, I was standing on top of the dam when a bald eagle appeared, flying up from the south end of the lake.
I got my lens on the eagle, and suddenly realized I knew her.
Kate is the mother eagle at First Nest.
 
 
 
 Kate turned her head and looked at me, changed her direction, made a single loop over me and headed back up lake.
I haven’t seen her in about 5 months.
 
 
 
 
This morning, I went by the First Nest cove.
The nest looked okay and I could hear an eagle calling.
I finally found Petruchio, the father eagle of First Nest, sitting up high on a favored perch in a pine.
While I was watching, he made a long swing down almost to lake level and I thought he was going fishing.
Turns out he wanted to investigate what the crows were doing.
 
 
 

By Jordan Lake, Bald Eagle Etiquette Rules 11/02/2018
How to Respect the Bald Eagles and Get your Photo:
(Doc’s personal eagle etiquette rules do NOT include watching breeding eagles and nests):
1) Eagles have a personal distance of 300 feet. You get closer than 300 feet – a football field in distance – and they leave.
2) When you get too close and an eagle leaves, you have just disturbed its feeding.
3) At the dam – that 300 foot rule (which by the way is the Federal legal distance to keep us from disturbing eagles) means you should not go more than 1/2 way down the length of the riprap.
4) Bring a chair or blanket for sitting on the rocks. Sit in one place.
5) Have a couple of hours to sit.
6) RESIST the temptation to dash down the length of the riprap when an eagle shows up – they go right back down the river. And remember, you just stopped their feeding efforts.
7) The very best photo I ever saw of an eagle at the Jordan Lake, Haw River riprap was taken by a lady with her point and shot camera – the eagles came right up river to where we were sitting and proceeded to fish in front of us.
I photographed this 2-year-old eagle at the Jordan Lake Haw River riprap this morning. I was half way down the riprap.

By Jordan Lake Bald Eagles 10/21/2018
The autumn air this morning was cold, crisp, clear and blustery.
It filled the bald eagles with an urge to test the wind and each other.
The bald eagle up top is a fledgling – one of this year’s babies.
The bald eagle down below is a 3-year-old.
They were both screaming when they appeared from the trees.
The tumbling mass of wings, tails, talons and beaks was awesome.