raptor

Tag

By Awkward?

Jordan Lake: “Hmmm, it appears I have put my toes in an awkward place. Let me consider this. Naw, I am an eagle and never get into awkward positions. Nope, not me. The toes are just fine, so there. Now, what was I watching…”

By Jaunty Tail Feather

Jordan Lake. This 4-year-old bald eagle certainly has a startling tail feather! In the first photo, the topmost tail feather is a solid deepest brown down the outermost edge. I don’t usually see eagle tail feathers colored exactly like that. It does make her look rakish and sporty. I wish that she would keep that tail feather coloration throughout her life. However she is a four-year-old and in the midst of her molt. So I imagine in another 6 to 12 months she will have the solid white head and tail of a fully adult bald eagle.

By Great Catch!

Jordan Lake: This osprey youngster is one of this year’s fledglings. The male osprey has caught himself a nice sized fish. He is certainly perfecting his fishing skills!

By Hot!

Jordan Lake. Hot? Yes, indeed hot! About 20 minutes after sunrise the sun had already burned most of the blue right out of the sky. Then, this two year old bald eagle showed up, panting. She perched and looked at me and then out towards mid-lake. The youngster stayed about 4 minutes and then flew around the bend and deeper into a heavily shadowed cove. I decided maybe she was smarter than me about the heat and so I soon gathered up my equipment and headed home.

By Eagle 0, Fish 1

Jordan Lake: I was watching Mom Godiva on a speed run up the main lake, heading north. I did not expect her to go fishing. Suddenly she did an almost 270° turn and had her feet in the water before I could catch up with her. As you can see maybe Godiva was a little too hasty in her fishing? That’s a big fish. She didn’t quite get a grip on it and flipped it out behind herself. The fish didn’t mind Godiva’s disappointment. Eagle zero, fish 1.

By Chocolate Osprey Fledgling

Jordan Lake: life at the lake is always surprising me … as with the female fledgling osprey in the first two photos … who is much, much darker in plumage coloration than most ospreys.  Her markings are a rich chocolate brown.  I have included a photo of a female fledgling osprey in the normal plumage colors I see at the lake.  Note the beautiful amber eyes of both birds as well as the white markings at the tips of their feathers.