Bald Eagles, Nests and Nest Cams

I have wanted to do a blog post about Eagles for some time now, and I really want to share with everyone about the Decorah, Iowa Eagle nest cam. I have been watching it for a few weeks. They have 3 eggs and I just realized this morning that the first one is hatching! When the mother Eagle stood up you could see the little guy almost out of his shell! It was so cool! The site also has a lot of information about Eagles, as well as a link to a nice tutorial about how to tell the difference between the male and female. That way you can know which one is sitting on the eggs! It is very helpful! Here is a link to the tutorial, and here is a link to the webcam! I’m assuming the other two eggs will hatch pretty soon, so go check it out ASAP!

In regards to the Shippingport Island Bald Eagle nest, I read on the BirdKY listserve yesterday, that they were observed defending the nest against a third adult Bald Eagle. It has been reported by several sources that a third Eagle has been frequenting the area. I’m so proud of our Papa Eagle; it appears that he has finally matured. He stays nearby, relieves Mama Eagle from nest sitting, and defends the nest! I have not heard anything about babies being seen yet; we’ll keep our fingers crossed!

Bald Eagle flying over Shippingport Island

I also read on the BirdKY listserve yesterday, that the female Osprey has arrived, and they had even been observed mating. I went down there this morning and got to see both Ospreys. While I was there, they defended their nest twice against a Bald Eagle! I’m not sure if it is one of the nesting Bald Eagles or that third Bald Eagle, but every time it got close to the Ospreys nest, they would fly around yelling at it and even dove at it a few times! Pretty exciting stuff!

Osprey vs Eagle

Bald Eagle and Osprey

Osprey at Shippingport Island

Posted in: Bald Eagle,Nest Cam,Osprey,Shippingport Island

Cedar Grove Commercial Park

I went on a Beckham Bird Club field trip this week to Cedar Grove Commercial Park in Shepherdsville, KY. It was led by our own Ryan Ankeny!

It was a good trip, and we saw several different species of birds. Although, Ryan said that when he usually leads this field trip during the month of march, it is much cooler and they usually see more of the wintering birds. I suppose a lot of them may have left a little early to head back north.

I got to see my very first Savannah Sparrows!

Savannah Sparrow

Savannah Sparrow

There were lots of Killdeer running around. I just happened to catch this one in flight.

Killdeer

A lot of trees are in bloom! I don't know what type this one is, but I thought it was so pretty!

This Brown Thrasher is the first one I have seen this season. He just popped in long enough for me to capture a sketchy picture, but I had to include it! I love their eyes!

Brown Thrasher

Song Sparrows aplenty, they are always fun to see and hear!

Song Sparrow

This next photo of a Field Sparrow is my favorite! I think they are so cute with their little pink beaks!

Field Sparrow

These were the only birds I got decent pictures of, but we also saw, Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Bluebirds and White-Crowned Sparrows, just to name a few. All in all a good birding trip!

I also wanted to mention that our (Louisville's) male Osprey arrived to the nest on Shippingport Island around last Saturday. It seemed like he took a few days to recuperate from his long trip from South America, but I stopped by this morning and saw him carrying a few sticks to the nest. The female Osprey should be arriving any time. Last year she arrived approximately two weeks after the male.

Osprey

I would also like to give you an update on the Lake Barkley Osprey Cam sponsered by KEEP. Since my blog entry last week, the male Osprey arrived and they have been busy tidying up the nest, and were even observed mating. Once they lay an egg, the cam will be real time video, with sound! I'm really looking forward to watching them throughout the season. It will give me a glimpse of what may be happpening in our Osprey nest!

Last but not least, I want to update everyone on the Bald Eagle nest on Shippingport Island. Several times that I have been there to check on them, I have observed the mate nearby, and watched them exchange places at the nest. This is very good news, since the last two years, their attempts at nesting were unsuccessful, mainly because Papa Eagle wasn't around enough, and Mama Eagle had to leave the nest to search for food! I have heard that sometimes it takes years for Eagles to "get the hang" of nesting. Everyone keep your fingers crossed, but we just might get to have a family this year! I'll keep you updated!

Bald Eagle

Posted in: Bald Eagle,Brown Thrasher,Cedar Grove Industrial Park,Field Sparrow,KEEP,Kentucky Environmental Education Projects,Killdeer,Osprey,Savannah Sparrow,Shippingport Island,Song Sparrow

Bald Eagle Over the Outer Loop in Louisville

Today, I had the rare treat of seeing a Bald Eagle up close and personal.  I was on the Outer Loop near I-65 when this Bald Eagle flew over me and landed in a tree right by the road.  I immediately reached for the camera and was able to snap off a few before it flew.

When the Bald Eagle landed in the tree he chased of the Red-tailed Hawk that was sitting in it and the size comparison when they were side by side was very noticeable.  The Bald Eagle looked to be almost twice the size of the Red-tailed Hawk and the Red-tail had no other option than to flee the tree.  As you can see in the photo above it looks as if the Bald Eagle has something in its talon, a starling maybe?  What do you think?

This is the third Bald Eagle I have seen in the area in as many years.  There have been nesting pairs reported from the Kentucky side of the river at the Falls of the Ohio and along the Salt River in Bullitt County.  They are becoming more common in the area with sightings seeming to increase every year.

If you are in the southern end of Louisville around the Okolona area, be on the lookout for this spectacular bird.

Posted in: Bald Eagle

Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge

A few weeks ago, my husband and I went to Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge, near Seymour, Indiana. I had been seeing on flickr that an Eastern Screech Owl had been hanging around for the last few weeks, and I wanted to see this Owl! I haven’t seen many Owls in the wild. I have caught the occasional glimpse and of course I hear them from time to time, but never have I been able to photograph them. We met Jack Bird from Madison and he took us to the Owls' hole. (See his photostream here.) It was pretty exciting! I got a few half way decent shots, but he was too far away to get a perfectly focused shot.

Eastern Screech Owl

While we were watching the Owl my husband saw a very large bird from a distance, so we headed over to the area where he saw it fly to and sure enough it was a Bald Eagle. Wow, within five minutes time, we saw an Owl and a Bald Eagle. It doesn’t get much better than that!

Bald Eagle

Red-tailed Hawks seemed to be the bird of the day at Muscatatuck, as we saw several.

Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk (Juvenile)

This little squirrel hung out long enough for me to snap a few shots, then darted off to go about his business!

Gray Squirrel

After we left Muscatatuck, we headed over to Ewing Bottoms. It’s an area near Brownstown, Indiana, just about 15 miles from Muscatatuck. This is an area full of low farmland, that sits near the White River, so there is a lot of flooding in these fields. Sandhill Cranes use these flooded fields to roost and eat. They stop here during migration in November & December, then again in February & March on their way back north. Usually you can see thousands of Sandhills, and every so often, on a lucky day, a Whooping Crane! I didn’t get to see a Whooping Crane this time, but there were tons of Sandhills!

Sandhill Cranes in the field

Sandhill Crane

Sandhill Cranes

Sandhill Trio

Posted in: Bald Eagle,Eastern Screech Owl,Gray Squirrel,Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge,Red-tailed Hawk,Sandhill Cranes

The Eagles have returned!

Last spring, Tom & Colleen Becker, local birding enthusiasts, discovered a pair of Bald Eagles were nesting in the Great Blue Heron Rookery on Shippingport Island. (Shippingport Island is where the McAlpine Locks are located). While it turned out to be unsuccessful, it was the first time in many years that Bald Eagles had attempted to nest in Jefferson County, Ky. Needless to say it was a very exciting event in Louisville!

Many of us in the birding community have had our fingers crossed for their return this year.

On March 6, 2011, my husband and I stopped by the Clark Cabin site at Falls of the Ohio to check the nest. (Clark Cabin site will provide you with the best vantage point to see the Eagle nest) Surprisingly, an Eagle was sitting on the nest! I immediately posted my findings to the listserves for both Kentucky and Indiana.

I know that Del Striegel, a local birder & volunteer at Falls of the Ohio, had checked on the nest approximately 10 days prior and saw no activity. So, we have to assume they returned and started sitting on the nest within that ten day span. According to the website www.baldeagles.org, the incubation period for Bald Eagles is approximately 35 days. Let’s all continue to keep those fingers crossed, and maybe in a few weeks we’ll have Eaglets to blog about!!

Just think, a little over a year ago, this blogger had never seen a Bald Eagle in the wild! Now, all I have to do is, go down to the river!

Posted in: Bald Eagle,Falls of the Ohio