Saturday, August 25, 2012

Late summer eagles


I've spotted my favorite eagle pair at low tide on the Nisqually delta beach. Several people have asked how I know it's the pair I've been documenting for the past year. And, if this is the pair from the nest up on the hill, where are the kids?

Mama eagle on the south side of the delta.
My theory is that the parents show the kids several favorite hunting grounds but keep the flats on the north side of the delta for themselves. I'd love to know where the kids are. From observations in the past few years, I suspect that a few of the youngsters gather in close proximity while others go off farther away.

Papa eagle on the north side of the delta in direct line from the aerie.
Eagles are spectacular in flight but spend a lot of time roosting. I observed one of the juveniles from this year's nest sitting at the top of the trainer tree for several hours. When I was down on the delta during low tide last weekend, these two eagles didn't move except to clean their feathers for a couple of hours. I'm going down again this week during one of the minus tides...and when it's not raining. In the meantime, check out my Low Tide Gallery with favorite shots from the past month.

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