Quick survey of the breakfast flights at the Jordan Lake Dam tailrace riprap this morning. Just thought I would let y’all get a taste of how active the birds are being. At least three times I saw groups of 15 ospreys up in the air. There were 11 great egrets. 6 to 10 great blue herons. One green heron! If you get a chance, and even if you do not have binoculars or a telephoto lens, bring your chair and sit down at the riprap and just watch. The ospreys are fishing at the upper end of the river by the dam. I hope you get to go by and enjoy them.
Wake County
TagIs the Osprey adult or fledgling?
When you cannot get close enough to an osprey to see its eye color (red/orange fledgling & yellow adult), especially in flight, and you want to know is it an adult or a fledgling. Take a look at the back of the bird! Fledgling has white points at the end of all of its feathers! Adult has beautiful brown flight feathers. 2 photos (adult left, fledgling right) so you can see the difference! Moncure, July 2025 & August 2014
Hummers of 2 Sorts
We are all familiar with a ruby-throated hummingbird … as it dashes madly about and the whir of its wings is quite distinct. There is another hummer at Jordan Lake and that is the hummingbird moth. You have to get pretty close to the moth to realize it is an insect and not a bird! I managed to catch both of these critters in the past couple of weeks and so wanted to share them with you. Enjoy their beauty and their zipping sipping flight! Moncure, NC, July 2025
Update Bald Eagle Jordan Lake Rescue
He is negative for avian influenza/ bird flu. That was first big hurtle. His weight has fluxuated – not unusual in the process toward recovery. He is getting supplements to help with recovery from the severe feather damage. He is being feisty. Still not capable of flight, he runs and hops around the long enclosure that is his home. As I get further information I will pass it along. Please note the ongoing cost towards his recovery is over $1500. Please consider making a donation, thank you! current location is Carolina Raptor Center, Huntersville, NC. photo is from day of capture
First Osprey Fledgling
My first sighting of one of this year’s fledgling ospreys! She is beautiful and her dark many layered necklace says I am female.
Learning to Feed Itself
The little leucistic chipping sparrow is getting very good at finding food! John Gerwin ornithologist at the NC Museum of Natural Science answered a couple of questions about this leucistic bird for me. I was concerned that maybe it was a hybrid: it is not, it is all chipping sparrow. The first item that told John this was a chipping sparrow was the shape of its bill! Just thought I’d pass that along to all of y’all as we learn together.
doc ellen's journey 