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: 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!
Jordan Lake. At the golden hour this morning, I found mama Godiva out on the perch in front of her nest. That is dad Hershey that you can see inside of the nest, just to the left of the main trunk. Their egg(s) should hatch just about any day now. So I am watching very very closely!
Mom Loblolly at Big Pine nest. I did not see her mate Pitch this morning. Neither did I see an eagle close to the nest or nest tree. I will be checking again tomorrow.
The yellow arrow is pointing at Hershey at H&G nest. He was the one that was doing the incubating this morning. He is much smaller than his mate Godiva. So you have to look hard to see him just above the point of the yellow arrow and snugged up against the main trunk.
It was pretty darn cold this morning. I was startled to see coming up off the edge of the lake, out of the water, an ice cold ghost bald eagle. She was magnificent. I always enjoy it when I get to add to the legends of Jordan Lake! I hope you enjoy this legend too.
H&G Nest: Mom Godiva laid her egg(s) 01/19/2022! In the photo she is in what we call “incubation posture” – she is snugged down on top of her eggs. Adult and immature bald eagles do well in cold air, but eggs and chicks do not. If Mom Godiva were to leave her eggs uncovered for a few minutes in this weather (at the moment it is 33°F with a windchill of 21°F) the embryos would die. So from now until the eggs hatch and the chicks get past the 2-week-old age point, it is imperative that mom or dad are tight against the eggs for all but a few moments.
Big Pine Nest: That is dad Pitch, way, way down the shoreline from his nest. The photo was taken on Thursday. I did not see Mom Loblolly so I don’t know if eggs have been laid yet.
I sure hope, for all of us, that the sun soon pops out and the roads dry out and become safe for travel.
Please stay warm and safe through the weekend. If you haven’t had a chance to contact those who can close the gate to protect Big Pine Nest and/or to sign the petition, grab a hot cup of coffee or tea, go to https://chng.it/h7Pnj5PQXY petition and https://docellensjourney.com/2022/01/08/help-big-pine-bald-eagle-nest-a-dozen-contacts/ for contacts and take action and help Loblolly and Pitch have a safe haven at their shelter.
Jordan Lake. This morning Hershey and Godiva were mating. So it’s not long now before eggs are laid. It is a very delicate dance as Hershey stands on Godiva and balances himself. He is standing on his balled up feet so he will not hurt her with his talons. There was a whole lot of chattering between the two of them.
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