Thursday, March 18, 2021

Bald Eaglets have arrived

Lots of action at the eagle nest the morning of March 12. I could hear eaglets calling and see that they were being fed, but so far had not seen a fuzzy bobble-head. The male (Pride) took over tending the nest early, probably after the female (Jewel) had spent all night covering them.

At about 7:30 AM Jewel was roosting, cleaning her beak and preening:

Jewel took flight and disappeared to the northeast:

She returned in a few minutes. A grackle harassed her and even landed on her back:

The grackle was persistent and followed her almost to the nest:

The pursuing grackle seemed to imitate the eagle's wing positions:




Jewel was carrying a small stick which she dropped at the nest and kept flying:



She roosted out in the open and provided some nice portraits. Although eagles' expressions are fixed they sometimes seemed to convey an attitude:






Jewel displaced Pride at the nest and he flew off:


Jewel tended to the unseen eaglet(s) which called out quite loudly. So far no one had gotten any photos of the brood which started hatching on March 6th or 7th:


BULLETIN: Thursday morning, March 18: I photographed two eaglets in the nest this morning!

This is the first-hatched, the 26th eaglet known to have been hatched at this nest (P Piney 26). She is probably a female as the odds in favor are 3:1--

The younger sibling is P Piney 27:


 
A Snowy Egret forages before sunrise at the Wet Prairie:


View from one of my favorite wildlife-watching "sit spots" at the edge of the prairie:

This week I noticed that trees are being removed along the north edge of the prairie, in an area which is zoned for residential development. It harbored an Osprey nest until a few years back when the area was treated with herbicides. The trunks of the dead trees are still standing, but the live growth, mostly exotic Mealaeuca trees, has been cut back, exposing them like skeletons:


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Linking to:

Nature Thursday

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

Camera Critters

All Seasons

Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Natasha Musing

Our World Tuesday

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Please visit the links to all these posts to see some excellent photos on display
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24 comments:

  1. What fun, it will be exciting when you get to see the youngster/s Looking forward to photos. Keep well Diane

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  2. Incredible photos. The close up shots make things really exciting!

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  3. Wonderful photos of the Eagles, especially with the following Raven.

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  4. Woaw! your pics of this fabulous eagle are really amazing! and the reflection is really wonderful!

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  5. Great shots! You are the king of eagle photography. :-)

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  6. Oh my, your Eagles photos are just fantastic! I love seeing the cute Eaglets. The Eagle's expressions almost look grumpy or mad. Love the Egret reflection. Great post. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, enjoy your day! Have a happy weekend! PS, thank you for leaving me a comment.

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  7. Gorgeous birds! Great shots!

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  8. How amazing to see the Eagles nest! We saw an Eagle this week and got one good photo...that's all! It was a thrill! Enjoy your weekend!

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  9. Spectacular photos! I wonder if the grackle dreams of being an eagle.

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  10. The eagles? I am GREEN with envy!!!
    I want to send you my thanks for sharing this week. Happy Birding!!

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  11. Wow! So close to the eagles! They really have an expressive "face".

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  12. Those eagle photos are absolutely amazing. Wow. How big of a zoom did you need to capture those? They are fantastic.

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    1. Erica, thanks! I shoot with a Hand-held Canon EOS 90D with EF 300mm f/4L IS USM prime lens and EF 1.4X II Extender (420 mm f/5.6 lens system, 672 mm 35 mm equivalent), 32.5 megapixel 32.5MP APS-C CMOS sensor

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  13. Wow ! Beautiful shots of birds and loved that snowy egret shot surfacing on the water . It would be my pleasure if you join my link up party related to Gardening, nature and birds here at http://jaipurgardening.blogspot.com/2021/03/garden-affair-stunning-statice-flowers.html

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  14. Stunning close ups from the eagles' heads, Ken.Kind of fun you were able to track the flying imitation patterns:) Many thanks for sharing these excellent captures with All Seasons, Have a beautiful week, Jes

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  15. Oh my! Such glorious captures of my favourite subject - Bald Eagles. Thank you so much. As a result of international flight restrictions I'm unable to make my annual visit to Vancouver Island, British Columbia in Canada where these magnificent creatures first stole my heart, so thank you for giving me some input until I can once again see them first hand. Blessings (love your photography!)

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  16. And always that fierce look. Beautiful.

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  17. Beautiful photos!
    Thanks so much for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2021/03/duke-gardens-memories.html

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  18. What fabulous captures of the eagles! I love seeing them. Your other images are great, too.

    I'm happy to see you at 'My Corner of the World' this week! Thanks for linking up.

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  19. Hello, :=) Your in-flight captures are magnificent. Is the behaviour of the Grackle unusual? It did seem to imitate the eagle. Great close up images of the eagle, and the delightful egret image with reflection.

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  20. So good to hear about Pride & Jewel yet again 🦅 the grackle actually made me smile ..... he does seem to be copying Jewel in her flight.

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  21. Dear Ken,

    What a delightful journey for Pride and Jewel. Jewel is a stunner and she knows that. I love the piggybacking grackle.

    Sorry to hear how humans continues to invade the homes of these mute angels time and again.

    Hope to have you join in this week as well, as the linky is live until Monday IST.

    Thank you so much for sharing these precious delights for #WordlessWednesday. I look forward to your images with anticipation.

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  22. Oh those close ups brother Kenneth! Wow!!! It's like I'm really close to him thorough my screen! Lovely captures!

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