On April 7 I arrived at the local Bald Eagle nest at about 9:45 AM and had just missed lots of action, according to the several watchers already present. The female (Jewel) was roosting quietly in the tall tree just east of the nest and the two eaglets were quite active in the nest.
The eaglets were just about one month old and there was a noticeable difference between the first-hatched eaglet (P Piney 26) and the smaller and still downy younger sibling (P Piney 27). Their names indicate that they are the 26th and 27th eaglets known to have hatched in this nest (and the newly constructed alternative nest). Since we started watching the nest in 2007, 19 eaglets have survived to fledge successfully.
After more than an hour I decided to call it quits, though Luis and Lazaro remained on watch. I was walking to my car when a couple of families with young children stopped and asked about the eagles. I returned to the nest area and helped them see the roosting female as well as the eaglets.
Then, just as I was leaving, my good deed went unpunished, as Jewel suddenly propelled from her perch and flew out to pluck some fresh leaves from an Australian Pine (These trees are not pines and do not have needles-- they are twigs covered by tiny leaves, and also are aromatic and oily. Perhaps they repel nest parasites).
As she flew over my head to return to the nest I captured a series of flight photos which made me happy to be an eagle lover. The sky was magnificently blue with puffy white clouds.
In the local wetlands, conditions have been dry enough to allow me to explore my favorite Bar Ditch Trail. Sometimes it remains underwater the entire year. This is a view to the east just before sunrise:
In nearby Weston, the Wood Stork colony in the rookery contained about 30 nests. On the main island, I counted over 85 adults and sub-adult storks, plus many nestlings:
A Glossy Ibis foraged along the shore of the lake:
We will be busy with our granddaughter's Quinceañera (Spanish pronunciation: [kinsea-ɲeɾa]; feminine form of "15-year-old") celebration. Because of the pandemic, it has been postponed three times. Rosyfinch Ramblings will go on autopilot for a couple of weeks. Call me technologically impaired, but I do not enjoy working from iPhone. Thank you for visiting!
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Linking to:
Skywatch Friday
Weekend Reflections
Saturday's Critters
BirdD'Pot
Camera Critters
All Seasons
Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)
Natasha Musing
Our World Tuesday
Please visit the links to all these posts to see some excellent photos on display
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