Mar 4, 2009: Cold Eagle

[capnhowdy]

OK. I give. Sure it's cold eagle.

But we can warm it up.

[classicman]

In a nice broth with some carrots, onions and asst other veggies.

[Katkeeper]

There is an eagle's nest along the GW Parkway just south of the main part of Alexandria. Very public; easily visible from the highway. The food should be good in the area, but I am sure there may be car accidents because low-flying eagles are pretty spectacular. The fledging might be a problem as well. That nest got 6 ish inches of snow on it on Monday. I didn't know eagles had their young so early.

[Sundae]

Originally Posted by monster

and then there are the humans who adopt and the cuckoos who deposit their eggs elsewhere...

... and don't forget the human children stolen by the faeries to pay their tithe to Hell!

Do you know how to spot a changeling? Boil an egg and put the egg in one bowl and the shell in the other. The changeling will be unable to resist the eggshell, and having been tricked it must return the child.

So you see, we have a very good reason for needing this bird's eggs!

[xoxoxoBruce]

2nd good reason... Bacon.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Katkeeper

There is an eagle's nest along the GW Parkway just south of the main part of Alexandria. Very public; easily visible from the highway. The food should be good in the area, but I am sure there may be car accidents because low-flying eagles are pretty spectacular. The fledging might be a problem as well. That nest got 6 ish inches of snow on it on Monday. I didn't know eagles had their young so early.

The Eaglecam at Norfolk Botanical Garden had 3 eggs laid between 2-11 and 2-19.

The Eaglecam in Gorham, ME is still waiting. In past years they've had eggs laid as early as mid-February but it's usually March. In winters the lakes are frozen over until April, the Eagles seem to wait for the thaw. Probably to insure a food supply for the nesting Mom Eagle and the hatched chicks.

The Sutton Center Eaglecam near Stillwater Lake, AZ, had 3 eggs laid between 2-6 and 2-13.

Both the Kent EagleCam, and the Lake Washington EagleCam , both in WA state, report no eggs yet.

The Platteville, CO, Eaglecam, has 3 eggs laid between 2-17 and 2-24.

I'm also surprised the start so early, but I guess that gives the fledglings a better start before next winter.

[classicman]

Damn bruce - thats some really cool shit right there. You have way too much time. srsly, thanks that is very interesting.

[glatt]

I've seen so many bald eagles in the last couple years, it's amazing. I love the comeback they have made. I saw one flying over my neighborhood a couple years ago. Last summer, I was sitting on the balcony at a pizza joint by a river in Maine and one flew to a tree right nearby. You go to Mason Neck about 10 miles away from me and with a decent pair of binoculars, you can see about half a dozen within 5 minutes. Just flying around over the river.

[Katkeeper]

I have a friend who used to go down to the Conowingo Dam in Maryland (where Route 1 crosses the river) every January to see eagles. They and other unusual birds would look for fish below the dam where the water was too active to freeze and warmer because of having gone through the turbines. One year she counted 50 eagles. This was probably in 2001 as the parking lots have been closed since then due to fear of terrorists so that it has been too difficult to get a vantage point to see the birds.

[Undertoad]

It's a great sign for the whole ecology. The birds of prey can't come back unless they have enough prey to feed on. The prey fish are strong because the waters are full of insect larvae. The insects and larvae are there because the waters aren't choked off with algae and poisons.

I see more hawks in Valley Forge. I think the Schuylkill River has improved.

[Leokins]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

It's a great sign for the whole ecology. The birds of prey can't come back unless they have enough prey to feed on. The prey fish are strong because the waters are full of insect larvae. The insects and larvae are there because the waters aren't choked off with algae and poisons.

I see more hawks in Valley Forge. I think the Schuylkill River has improved.

Southern Ontario must be doing pretty good then, we have hawks everywhere, including our really populated urban centres.



This one caught a seagull in mid air and landed in the middle of the road to eat it while I was waiting for the bus. I have two other regular hawk visitors to my backyard and I've seen about 5 others while driving highways this week.
It is hawk week and someone forgot to tell me?

[xoxoxoBruce]

Hawks and particularly Peregrine Falcons can thrive in urban settings. Pigeons, Seagulls, squirrels and rats are plentiful in many cities. The air is getting cleaner too. Thanks for the picture Leokins.

[Katkeeper]

Pigeons, don't forget pigeons, the ultimate food!

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Hawks and particularly Peregrine Falcons can thrive in urban settings. Pigeons, Seagulls, squirrels and rats are plentiful in many cities. The air is getting cleaner too. Thanks for the picture Leokins.

Originally Posted by Katkeeper

Pigeons, don't forget pigeons, the ultimate food!

Yes'm.

[Sundae]

Since moving back here my Dad has pointed out a lot of Kites to me. I'm used to seeing Kestrels, but these are new. Then again, as a child we didn't have a car, so unless they were over our field they wouldn't have been a familiar sight. They are mostly carrion eaters, so they are common on rural roads.

I do worry that we are losing natural hunting grounds though. You have to walk far futher out of Aylesbury to be in the proper countryside now. There used to be an uninterrupted line between the Bierton farms and our house 20 years ago, so we saw foxes, badgers, hedgehogs etc regularly. And the cat brought in fieldmice, voles and shrews. Now all we have is the occasional urban fox and rat. That we see I mean, not that the cat brings in