Jordan Lake: Osprey mom and dad. Mom showed up first, all full of herself! She occasionally chirped from her perch. Then far off, I heard a second chirp. Dad appeared and all was right in the world as the couple reunited after their long solo migrations.
Jordan Lake: H&G nest. That is Mom Godiva in the nest. If you look very very and I do mean very closely, you can SEE her CHICK. The chick is barely above the nest brim. It is tucked in between her white head and the brown of her chest. At this distance it almost looks like a dandelion blossom! I was not sure yesterday that I was actually seeing one of the chicks until I had time this morning to go back through yesterday‘s shoot. Glad I can share the chick with you!
Jordan Lake: Big Pine nest. The day was somewhat cool and a little bit breezy but lots of bright sunshine! The first photo is Mom Loblolly. She has something of a coy look, which wouldn’t match her arrogant eagle attitude, however I think she was just watching something down on the shore. The other photo is Dad Pitch keeping his chick or chicks warm!
Jordan Lake: the OSPREYS have returned to Jordan Lake for their breeding season. This female has a very large crop so she has eaten well post her flight from Central or South America. Once again the stage is set for the interactions between the two fishing raptors of the Jordan Lake Neighborhood!
Jordan Lake: At least one egg has HATCHED! We don’t know yet if there is a second egg/chick. That is mom Loblolly reaching down towards the chick. She’s got a bite of fish in her beak. We can’t quite see the chick yet. The next two weeks are extremely critical to this chick because a chick must to be at least two weeks old before it can thermal regulate – in other words it can’t control its own body temperature until then and depends on the parent’s body heat for warmth. So on one hand I am very glad that it is warm today and that the chick won’t get chilled if the parent should be spooked from the nest. On the other hand, and I don’t blame them, there will be more people out at the park because the visitors want to be outdoors in the sunshine. I just pray that the visitors all respect these bald eagles and stay out of the Shelter 8 loop.
Jordan Lake: H&G nest. Hershey and Godiva have hatched a chick or chicks! They may have hatched them yesterday but I wasn’t 100% certain of that because I could not distinctly see any kind of feeding behavior. This morning I could see the behavior. That is Godiva leaning over to feed the chick, she stands up, looks around, and instantly goes back to feeding the baby. Hallelujah!
doc ellen's journey 