The family of eagles at New Hope appear to have survived the horrible weather of the past couple of weeks. I watched as Kate watched over her chicks and got my first glimpse of the newest eagles on Jordan lake.
in the video: Kate is sitting to the right. Petruchio, the father, is off fishing and not in the video. Just below Kate’s feet you can see one chick: look for the 1/4 round grey ball of a head and 1 dark eye. If you can’t see that chick at first, wait until the second chick shows up and you will have a better chance of seeing the first chick. The second chick makes a very, very quick appearance way to the left of the nest. The chicks are head-heavy at this point and often lose their balance until their muscles match their growing large body. So wait for the sudden moment and you can match the color of the heads and appearance of the eyes of the two chicks. Hope you enjoy!
The 3 year old eagle tried 3 times to pick up the same fish from the river. I was attempting to photograph him and not fall in…water this time of the year is cold… So I captured what I could from my perch on the edge of the riprap. Hope you enjoy the juvenile eagle’s efforts while getting a small taste of some of the challenges of wildlife photography!
it is hard to gather pollen when the wind is blowing at the top of the riverbank – the video should do well on full screen – I do not know why the little circle stays in the middle on the small screen view!
In the rookery tree, you can see two of the nests. The upper nest has 4 chicks waiting for the arrival of a parent and their breakfast; their interest is glued to the nest below them. The lower nest has a parent that is feeding its 4 young by regurgitating fish and letting the chicks grab its bill and a mouthful of food. Eventually the 4 downstairs chicks are fed and the family sets about grooming and exploring.
I have to wonder two things: with all the sharp bills, how are injuries avoided and how do 5 large birds not fall off the edge of the small nest. The bills and nest must work: we thankfully still have lots of the fascinating herons around to amaze us.
