If you like bald eagles . . .

[GC]

http://www.berry.edu/eaglecam/

Sometimes you see them in the nest, sometimes you . . .

[GC]

I'd never realized that such magnificent creatures could be such klutzes. The male brings a near-useless twig back to the nest, and the fun begins.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=730669630618

[Dan Schultz]

I'd never realized that such magnificent creatures could be such klutzes. The male brings a near-useless twig back to the nest, and the fun begins.

There's pretty much a limit to what you can do with your pecker!

[iiipopes]

I'd never realized that such magnificent creatures could be such klutzes. The male brings a near-useless twig back to the nest, and the fun begins.

Whew! And I thought we American men were the only species that did that -- more proof our forefathers had great insight and did choose the appropriate avian symbol for our country!

[GC]

Weeeeellllllllll, the right tool for the right job, I guess.

If my memory is correct, Ben Franklin wanted the wild turkey for the American symbol. At least 101 proof, I bet.

[GC]

Well, we now have an egg in the nest. They can't seem to decide where it belongs or whether the nest construction is right. They constantly sit a while, fiddle with the nest, move the egg, and repeat. I'm hoping they get straight soon; earlier in the week we had single-digit temperatures, and we'll have several days of lows well below freezing soon again.

[tbn.al]

I was startled to find a bald eagle perched in a tall oak tree in my back yard this Fall. We do have lots of them in GA and even in the burbs, but I have no nearby water. I am about halfway between Allatoona and Lanier, two large lakes, and seven or eight miles from the Chatahoochee, the nearest river. The eagle sat in the tree for about thirty minutes allowing me to get within 30 or 40 feet and finally got bored and flew away. Absolutely majestic creatures!

[iiipopes]

I joked earlier, but SW Mo is fortunate that bald eagles do nest around the lakes of the region, and are such a marvelous sight to behold.

[GC]

Where the eagles nest at Berry College is right behind a large parking lot near the athletic and student centers. It's within a couple of miles of a river and probably within 5 or 6 miles of a reservoir, numerous small lakes, two large lakes, and a flooded quarry. There are plenty of fish, and they've also been reducing the local squirrel surplus. Hunting has not been a problem for them.

There are several other juvenile eagles that have been spotted in the area, hopefully including their offspring from last year. They had to chase one out of their nest a couple of months back. The eagle population here is doing well.

There are tons of hawks in this area, too. I live in the edge of a national forest, and there is at least one nest on my property. I hear them every day and usually see them daily.

[GC]

Two eggs now . . .

http://www.berry.edu/eaglecam/

After several nights of sub-freezing temperatures, part of extended cold spells like we haven't seen here in several years, mom eagle looks stiff, tired, and generally miserable when she's on her feet. She has to shift position, do tweaking of the shape of the nest, and turn the eggs every so often. Sometime before the pair returned to the nest in the fall she sustained injuries to both feet, and she has trouble moving in the nest and perching above it.

[GC]

"Sunny South, my eagle butt . . ."

Seriously, she's nesting two eggs at the moment. It's supposed to stay below freezing for at least two days and down to single digits tonight. Here's hoping the eggs aren't harmed.

This poor eagle had a rough year. She's sustained injuries to both feet and has trouble moving well in the nest and perching.

[Donn]

This poor eagle had a rough year. She's sustained injuries to both feet and has trouble moving well in the nest and perching.

One potential cause of foot injuries in large raptors is those damned squirrels. I love that the eagles are picking a few of the stinking vermin off, but it just takes one squirrel bite to sever a tendon or something. I believe the bald eagles around here are mostly into fish and small waterfowl, and if all the squirrels were gone they wouldn't miss them a bit.

[GC]

The Berry eagles mostly seem to eat squirrels, fish, and coots.

Not these old coots above, though.

[Donn]

This is why I like red tail hawks. I have nothing at all against fish and coots. Or against small birds, which seems to be the main target for the local Cooper's hawks or whatever they are. A pair of red tail hawks in the neighborhood, though, would be awesome.

[GC]

The presence of red tail hawks in my back yard doesn't seem to affect the squirrel population in my front yard much. It's a different story when barred owls start to hang around; the squirrels make themselves scarce, or maybe dinner.

[GC]

I feel sorry for the old girl. It dropped to -2 degrees Fahrenheit here last night. Hope it didn't kill the eggs. To say the least, this is not a typical Jawjuh winter.

[GC]

. . . SOUTH Florida.



Two weeks ago it snowed, and I put up the pic on the previous page. Since then it got warmer, and things started looking better. Then two days ago it snowed 4-6 inches, last night we had an ice storm (much worse to the south and east of us), and we're expecting 4-6 inches more snow tonight. At least thawing should start tomorrow. I wouldn't want to be in her place.

[tbn.al]

She looks so much warmer now!

[GC]

Well, a little news. One of the eggs shows pipping; the chick is beginning to try to break out of the egg.

On the Berry Eagles Facebook page (link on the right about midway down the Berry page), there's a video of mom getting divebombed by a great horned owl from a couple of nights ago. There doesn't seem to be much damage done, if any.

Another nest has been discovered on Berry property about 7 miles away (if you think that's a bit much for a college campus, Berry is the largest in the world with over 27,000 acres, most of it forest). It has evidently been in use for several years, but as of yet there's no knowledge whether or not there are eggs or eaglets there. It's in a remote area that's not open to the public.

[tbn.al]

Just watched her turn her eggs and didn't see any piping. It is time though, 35 days yesterday.