Saturday, December 05, 2020

The Daily Eagle


 Last weekend, Thanksgiving weekend brought a lot of first time visitors, some local, some from out of town, down the Dyke Marsh, my nearby swamp walk, the place I go for my daily eagle. I had an opportunity to talk at a safe social distance with masks on with a few visitors.  I pointed out a distant bald eagle to one person, I thought she was going to cry.  She said, she had never seen a bald eagle in the wild before.  

There are two or three breeding pairs of bald eagles within a mile or so of river front.  I have located two nests, I am sure there are more.  On average I see an eagle about 80% of the time.  It took a while to learn how to spot them, often at a great distance, and where they tend to roost.  Rarer is seeing one in flight, my guess is about 1 in 25 times I see and eagle, one takes flight.  I have noticed two ways they perch, in the upright position like they are above, they may take flight, but they may also perch there for an hour or more.  If they are more horizontal, and pacing on the branch, in my experience they are much more likely to take flight. 

When I first walked up, there was one on the tree above, they are about 100 feet from their nest.  I turned to take look at something on the beach (yes there is a small beach), turned back and there were two in the tree.  

I have to admit that I look for my daily eagle on every walk.

What do you look for everyday? 

18 comments:

  1. sunshine, cardinals and jays at the bird feeder.

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    1. The Jays are pretty this time of year.

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  2. I watch a pair of bald eagle everyday on the Dick Prichett eagle cam they have every year. Harriet and M15 are just about ready to lay eggs. The cams follow the family and hatchlings till they they the nest. No words can say how cool it is to watch it. I learned from watching that many eagles will have and ready two nest...but will select the perfect one right before the eggs come.

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    1. It looks like on of our pairs is sitting eggs, according to one of the ornithologists that spends time everyday watching.

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  3. Anonymous12/05/2020

    Generally birds I haven't seen before and over the last few years there has been a lot of them. I don't know if our cities are more attractive to birds or they are losing their habitat. I hope the former.

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    1. We still have a lot of habitat, I am thinking that cities are more compatible today, than in years past. Cities create micro climates, stay warmer in cold weather.

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  4. Replies
    1. There is so much to see in a lifetime.

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  5. Truth, Justice, Enlightenment, Pancakes...

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    Replies
    1. Pancakes will be the easiest to find

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  6. You are so lucky to see these extraordinary creatures so often.

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  7. You look for eagles, I look for hidden pee puddles which I have stepped in barefoot every now and then. Stinkin' Maltese trying to exert his inner Rottie alpha! Those puddles (rare, but there) can be slippery when you don't expect them. After that, I look for the horde of turkeys chillin' on my front lawn.

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    1. The dog daily duty is to keep you on your toes. Turkeys are so fun.

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  8. DYKE MARSH? Be still, my heart!

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    1. You are the first to comment on the name. Very Good!

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  9. I look for the planets and the stars.
    Every night when I go a-walking I want to see what is where.

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    1. A long time since many people have looked up and wondered

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