This morning I watched Mama Godiva fly into the upper reaches of a dead tree and snatch a branch out to use to repair her nest. It was a rather pointy and many branched section that she had. But she did manage to get it into the nest. I’ve often wondered when I watch the bald eagles do this, as in the first picture, how the eagle don’t get all tangled up in all the other branches around them. But they make it in and they make it out and they make it to the nest! Go mama Godiva go.
Jordan Lake: Captain Doug and I had just checked the nest and there wasn’t anybody at home. When all of a sudden high through the trees came Captain Dad. He was in a big hurry and he was headed upstairs, so to speak. As you can see he caught up with his lady. That’s Captain Mom in the lead in the photos of the pair in flight. They went up in the air, circling higher and higher and higher and finally got totally out of our sight. Eagles like doing that kind of flying! Especially together as a pair.
Jordan Lake: Sometimes I admit that I wish I could read a Bald Eagle‘s mind. For instance, this two-year-old bald eagle, this morning, looked at me as if I were some how or other an odd object on the shoreline. I am certain this youngster has seen humans before! But, I did wonder what she was thinking about…
Jordan Lake, Bald Eagle nest report: H&G nest. I watched as Mom Godiva flew past me with some kind of bird in her talons. She had just gotten past me when I realized there was another eagle trailing her. By time I caught up with the other eagle it had started to land in the nest – almost on top of Godiva. It was one of the fledglings from this year‘s hatching at H&G nest. Mom Godiva was not going to have anything at all to do with the offspring. As you can see she promptly threatened it and said no way are you sharing this bird. The fledgling bailed out. Most parent eagles have finished any supplemental feeding of their offspring by about September. This youngster tried for food and it didn’t work. Please remember, nature is never cruel but she is harsh.
Here is a prime example of my father‘s favorite kind of temperature gauge. I photographed this red shouldered hawk yesterday morning when the wind chill factor was 35°F. Even if I had been sitting in my warm truck, I could have glanced over at this hawk and known that because he is almost as big around as he is tall … the air is cold. He has all of his feathers fluffed up as a nice warm blanket. Also note that he’s got his body lowered so that his feather blanket is mostly covering his feet … just like our warm winter slippers would do.
Jordan Lake: Kate and Petruchio, like all bald eagle mated couples, go through the rituals of courtship every year as a way to affirm their relationship. Here you can see Petruchio (closest to you) and next to him is Kate. They are talking loudly to each other… bald eagles love to chatter! Also note that Kate (as is true of all bald eagle females) is much larger than Petruchio. This is the beginning of this year‘s courtship. I surely hope that I can catch more of the sequence to share, but, only time will tell us that…
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