Zonny Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 Hatch In Progress!!! https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/decorah-north-nest/ 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zonny Posted March 31, 2019 Author Share Posted March 31, 2019 (edited) Just caught a glimpse of the little ball of fuzz!! There's one more to come. Three days behind his/her big bother/sister. Edited March 31, 2019 by Zonny 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janice6 Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 (edited) Each year my family vacations in Northern Minnesota. One of the thrills of boating carries us past an Eagles nest on a large Island Pine tree. When you look up at the nest from fairly close, the construction of the nest was done with tree limbs, not twigs as it may look like without any context for size. This particular nest is about 3 feet in diameter and many of the limbs are around 1" in diameter. That's a significant nest! This particular nest has occupants every year we have vacationed there, which means about 30 years for my family. We don't go to hunt or fish, we go to enjoy the company of our family members. I am amazed that after all this time we still rent the whole resort and simply enjoy each other's company, and the isolation from the civilized world. Seeing the proliferation of Eagles, along with Bears and other game, makes it a very special time for us. They re all over the lake area up there. We have had a rare experience of having an adult Eagle and an adolescent sitting on a couple of dead tree stumps in an isolated bay of the lake about 25 to 50 feet from our boat, while we pretended to fish. We caught many small Rock Bass which were promptly thrown back in. Some of the Rock Bass couldn't swim underwater because of the damage from the hooks, so they would splash and flounder on the surface near the boat. First the adolescent took off from the post he was sitting on and made a very high speed pass at one of the Rock Bass on the surface. He came in at it at a very high speed and tried to grab the fish without slowing down. of course, missed his prey. He flew back to the post sitting next to the adult. A minute or two later, the adult took off from it's post, and flew around our boat over a floundering Rock bass. The Adult came down over the fish and flared its wings so it appeared to come to a stop in the air just above the fish. Then it simply grabbed the fish with it's talons and flew back to the post. The wonderous thing happened when the adolescent then flew off the post, around our boat, and duplicated the adults actions by dropping over the fish, hovering and picking up the fish with no difficulty, then flying back to sit next to the adult. I was astounded to see first hand the training of a marvelous predator and it's being taught the subtlety of proper technique. I couldn't believe my eyes and it left me with a once in a lifetime experience. Edited March 31, 2019 by janice6 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zonny Posted March 31, 2019 Author Share Posted March 31, 2019 (edited) I bet so! I've seen many eagles and many nests on my trips to Alaska. Just recently, I've had two sightings here, on my way home from work. Tempe Town Lake (man-made) has been rumored (yet kept very quiet) to have a nesting pair at the lake. Now, I'm a believer!! We have several other nesting pairs in the state now. Very well protected and kept hush-hush for the most part. Hoping they get a good footing (talon ) in our area! This pair that I linked to, lost all of their eaglets last year. I'm keeping everything I have crossed for a successful fledge of both of these fuzz balls. BTW- If you poke around that site, you will find a lot of interesting information about the local 'residents'. Edited March 31, 2019 by Zonny 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janice6 Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 6 minutes ago, Zonny said: I bet so! I've seen many eagles and many nests on my trips to Alaska. Just recently, I've had two sightings here, on my way home from work. Tempe Town Lake (man-made) has been rumored (yet kept very quiet) to have a nesting pair at the lake. Now, I'm a believer!! We have several other nesting pairs in the state now. Very well protected and kept hush-hush for the most part. Hoping they get a good footing (talon ) in our area! This pair that I linked to, lost all of their eaglets last year. I'm keeping everything I have crossed for a successful fledge of both of these fuzz balls. BTW- If you poke around that site, you will find a lot of interesting information about the local 'residents'. I'm sorry but I added to my post since I wanted to relate a once in a lifetime event for me. I hope you go back and read the edit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zonny Posted March 31, 2019 Author Share Posted March 31, 2019 2 minutes ago, janice6 said: I'm sorry but I added to my post since I wanted to relate a once in a lifetime event for me. I hope you go back and read the edit. WOW!!! What a WONDERFUL experience. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BamaBud Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 (edited) Each year there is an eagle-watching festival at the State Park at Lake Guntersville. More info here. Make your plans for next year! https://www.alapark.com/Lake-Guntersville-State-Park-Eagle-Awareness-Weekends-2019 Dozens of pictures here: https://rootsrated.com/stories/a-guide-to-lake-guntersville-s-eagle-awareness-weekends Edited April 1, 2019 by BamaBud 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janice6 Posted April 1, 2019 Share Posted April 1, 2019 A few of my family members work at the Prairie Island Nuclear Power plant on the Mississippi River in Southern Minnesota. The portion of the river that leads to Lake Pepin is practically an Eagle hatchery. I have taken a sightseeing paddle boat ride from Red Wing, Minnesota down the river to Lake Pepin, and the number of Eagles seen is remarkable. They are so plentiful due to the power plant heating that portion of the river enough during the Winter, that it is open and ice free in the vicinity of the plant all Winter long and makes for an abundance of fish. So, many critters and birds stay there all year around. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs.Cicero Posted April 3, 2019 Share Posted April 3, 2019 I wonder if the pair up the river from me will have any this year? No bird cam there, gotta' wait to see what flies down later... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
railfancwb Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 Just caught a glimpse of the little ball of fuzz!! There's one more to come. Three days behind his/her big bother/sister.Generally the first hatched kicks the others out, or so I’ve been told. Thus one effective hatch per season. At one time, and possibly still, National Park Rangers permitted raptor specialists to steal all but one egg from nests. Those stolen eggs were then taken to raptor sanctuaries to be hatched and fed without visible human contact. At the appropriate ages, the maturing eagles were released into the wild. Dollywood, in Pigeon Forge TN, maintained one such raptor sanctuary. As a result of their successes I have seen a mature (white head) bald eagle fishing in the Tennessee River in Knoxville. https://www.eagles.org/visit/eagle-mountain-sanctuary/https://www.eagles.org/about-aef/Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASH Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 i thought this thread was about a hip transplant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
railfancwb Posted April 6, 2019 Share Posted April 6, 2019 Reelfoot Lake in northwest Tennessee, formed from the Mississippi River by the 1812 New Madrid earthquake, has a worthwhile quantity of bald Eagle families. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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