Jordan Lake, Monday, August 2, 2021. Lake level was at 216.09 ft. I was talking with one of the Rangers this morning, when this three-year-old bald eagle showed up. She glanced over at us. Didn’t see anything about us that seemed to worry her and so she turned her head away and kept right on flying. She is carrying what appears to be a very small catfish for her breakfast.
Jordan Lake: Osprey don’t often fish in the reedy/grassy shallow areas of the lake. Osprey will take just about any species of fish but seem to prefer the longer-bodied fish (bass, catfish) over the more round-bodied fish such as this bluegill. That may be a factor of what fish species are found here in Jordan Lake or it may be that it is easier for the Osprey to actually physically grab the longer bodied fish. Note that the Osprey has his foot wrapped totally around the bluegill. By the way this is a dad Osprey who took this bluegill back to his three fledglings who met him at the nest and each demanded the fish for its own meal. His daughter won the fish.
Jordan Lake: as we have all sensed and endured of late, the heat and humidity is just about unbearable. But something other than heat was on this bald eagle’s mind. He was watching something way out of our human sight. Then he launched, gathered the hot humid air under his wings and left we humans behind.
Jordan Lake. A study this morning in the process of molting in birds. To molt means the bird is changing out damaged and old feathers for a brand new set. All birds do this – in several different patterns. It just so happens that both the bald eagle (1st photo) and the Broad-winged hawk (2nd photo) do what is known as a sequential molt. They molt out the same section of flight feathers on each wing at the same time. Note that on both birds on each wing there are sets of feathers that are sticking out on the trailing edge with a matching set on the other wing. Not all birds do a sequential molt, it really depends upon the species. In this case it also helps me to know that the bald eagle is two-years-old. The Broad-winged hawk is an adult. The molt patterns do make them both look rather raggedy, doesn’t it! Oh and did you see the fish the eagle is carrying?
Jordan Lake, Haw River 16 minutes after the sun rose … I was tracking a male osprey as he came in over the dam and almost disappeared down into the shadows of the riprap and the sudden glare of the sun. I watched the osprey flare and snatch his fish and then the quiet morning exploded in osprey shrieks and great blue heron gronks. A large light grey shadow was closing in on the osprey. I don’t know if the heron had had an eye on the same fish as the osprey or that the heron took exception to the osprey disturbing his morning fishing. The osprey fled the river with his fish and out over the dam and the heron grumbled his way back to the riprap shoreline.
Jordan Lake does not have a human happy hour, so to speak, because alcohol is not allowed at the lake. However, American Crows define happy hour to be any time that they come across some human food to haul off. The lead crow has either a piece of chicken wing or maybe chicken nugget and it is heading for the clan’s cache tree. The other two crows are part of his family/clan that are escorting him across the open part of the lake in order to keep other clans from stealing that tidbit of human food. It appears that fried chicken in any form or shape and at any hour is appealing both to humans and to crows!
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