This morning Captain Doug and I watched Captain Mom swoop past and catch a small fish. You can see the fish in the water just in front of her approaching talons in the first photo. Like the great mom she is, she promptly took it to the nest for her chicks.
Jordan Lake: often when I am out monitoring bald eagles, I have time to watch other birds too. This pair of eastern bluebirds have selected a tree cavity for their nesting season. I am always delighted when I can find a cavity breeder such as the eastern bluebird using a natural tree hole for their nest placement. Don’t get me wrong … the bluebird population was saved in part by the efforts of many a birder who placed bluebird boxes about their property and gave these thrushes a place of safety for their families. Natural cavity or bluebird box: these small birds make use of what they can claim for their home!
Looking left to right: Mom Godiva getting a piece of fish ready to feed to her rapidly growing chicks, a chick right against the main trunk of the tree and then the second chick to the right of the main trunk.
The whole family! That is Dad Hershey perched way to the left, then in the nest it is Mom Godiva, a chick trying to push in and get a bite of food and then the other chick still to the right of the trunk. Great getting to see the whole family all at once. And, it is easy to see in this photo how light brown Dad is … that is how he got his name … after the chocolate bar.
My blessings and thank you to each and every Mom on this Mother’s Day. May each of you have a moment this day to celebrate all mothers of today and times past. Peace and Grace, Doc Ellen
The bald eagle chick FLEDGED today! I watched him going up and down and up and down from the nest to the branches above the nest. Then he stopped, way up high, looked toward the main lake, quivered, and flew away from the nest. Oh, my!
The bald eagle chick is branching higher! I included a closeup and a full shot so you can see his progress.
doc ellen's journey 