immature bald eagle

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By Update Loblolly and Pitch

Jordan Lake. Loblolly has not laid eggs yet; gate still open. Interference sensitivity charts for a bald eagle breeding season has egg laying as the most critical point in time. Juvenile eagles keep an eye on bald eagle nests because they like to rob the nest of eggs or chicks. The parent eagles know this and guard their territory even before eggs are laid. Loblolly and Pitch have the added hardship and stress of human visitors being allowed to get too close to their nest and disturbing the natural sequence of being a parent eagle. There were people in the shelter area when I took these 2 photos. None of the three eagles got anywhere close to the shelter parking lot – they avoided it. Photo: Loblolly on left, Pitch on right, 3-year-old bald eagle in 2nd photo.

Loblolly and Pitch
3-year-old bald eagle

By Intense 2-year-old Bald Eagle

Jordan Lake. I was sitting quietly listening for loons. From the trees across the lake from me came this 2-year-old bald eagle. My congratulations to her! She had beaten the roughly 50% odds that all eagles face in their first year of life… She lived to fish at two years of age. Oh, the intensity on her face!

By Respect

Respect. Respect the Bald Eagles of Jordan Lake. 50% of bald eagle fledglings don’t live to become a yearling. Why? They have to learn to fish, to feed themselves. When a person walks down the riprap below the Jordan Lake Dam, hoping to get closer to the bald eagles they can see, they push the birds further down the Haw River and away from the best fishing spots. The Federal Law states you must stay 330 feet from a bald eagle. Going past the marked distance on the map below (on either side of the riprap) pushes the eagles away from their food source. This is considered harassment. Please be patient. Don’t chase the bald eagles. Stop where I have marked on the riprap and let the eagles come to you. Give our National Symbol room to fish and to live.The photos with this posting were all taken from the banks of the riprap this morning, where I sat at the black arrow. If you want to read the rules, go to the Bald Eagle and Golden Eagle Act of 2007 where ALL the laws of the bald eagle originate. These laws are based on more than 200 years of study on the ecology of the bald eagle and not on a desire to get closer to them. Come join me, at the tailrace of the Jordan Lake Dam, sit, enjoy and watch like I did this morning while 9 bald eagles joined me between where I sat and the end of the rock riprap. Thank you for your patience and willingness to give the Jordan Lake Bald Eagles room to fish and thrive.

By White Dots …

Jordan Lake. A field ID mark on a fledgling osprey is all of the white points at the end of its feathers. They are quite distinct. I have also noticed some of this on fledgling bald eagles, and fledgling hawks. Not near as definitive but it is there. I keep asking the experts do they know why. So look at the neck and head ruff on the eagle and osprey and on the wings and see what you think.

bald eagle fledgling
osprey fledgling

By Bald Eagle Fledgling in the Wrong Place!

Jordan Lake. A pair of adult bald eagles were perched quietly. One suddenly jumped up and flew over the peninsula. Then bald eagle screaming began on the other side of the trees. Captain Doug got us around the cove to find a fledgling bald eagle who was apparently in the adult bald eagles’ territory. There was about three minutes of fast and furious chase time. All three eagles seemed to be fine at the end of all of the chasing.