Big birds beyond the front porch

About a block from my house, two stormwater management ponds attract nesting barn swallows, red-winged blackbirds, soaring eagles, geese, ducks and, occasionally, a great blue heron.

Unfortunately the ponds - right now one is full and the other is dry - also collect trash and a stray soccer ball or two. I'm always amazed to see trash and dog poop on the grass right next to a trash bin and doggy bags. I just don't get it. Are we raising a generation of people who think that somebody's going to pick up after them?

We live directly above the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge and Puget Sound. The stormwater ponds help slow runoff and protect water quality and wildlife. 

And now the ponds themselves are supporting wildlife, cattails, and native plants. All just a short walk from the front porch.

 

Congregation of dozen eagles

Right after walking out my front door, I spotted four bald eagles soaring and gliding on thermals along the ridge above Puget Sound and the Nisqually delta. Mostly juveniles that appeared to be a year or two old, there was at least one adult with characteristic white head - second from the left in the photograph above.

Nine bald eagles - three others were just out of view.

Altogether there were 12 in the sky but spread far apart with two pairs and combinations of three, four, five, and seven. Their flight patterns shifted every few moments like a kaleidoscope.

For much of an hour, I was enthralled with not only their flight maneuvers but activity in the small pond below that's formed by stormwater. A nesting pair of red-winged blackbirds and a hunting great blue heron occupied opposite sides of the pond directly below the eagles.

I'll post those images later this weekend. The light was pretty dim and would've benefitted from a fill flash. Maybe next time. This is the second time I've spotted a number of bald eagles in this same spot. We have two nests within a square mile of where these birds can be seen.

They are all related in some way, perhaps brothers and sisters from different broods, or cousins. A few years ago, I photographed four fledglings in a snag near here. Four adult eagles were nearby.

One pair mirrored each other's flight patterns and occasionally circled each other mid-air, sometimes with talons locked, one nearly upside down. 

Their actions seemed choreographed; their ballet lasting well past sundown. 

Eagles return to ridge and nest

There have been far fewer bald eagles wintering in the Nisqually delta than I've seen in a long time. The chum salmon run was much less bountiful than last year. So much so that the chum fishing season was closed early.

In winter of 2011, I spotted at least a dozen bald eagles at a time along the Nisqually River. I shared the company of eagles - lots of them - to bring in the new year in 2012.

I've wondered if my favorite eagle pair would return to the nest this season. Occasionally I would see a juvenile in the area and, once, saw both male and female mates flying in the area in January. For the past couple of weeks, though, I've seen papa in his favorite snag where he watches over his mate and the nest. He spends a lot of time stretching and cleaning every feather - twice. No sign - or sound - from mama though. In the past few years, they would talk to each other - he from the snag and she from the nest.

Padme the wonderdog, and occasionally my son, would walk with me down the street where we can see the nest, watch papa for awhile, then head on our way. Papa was always patient, ever-vigilant. Young eagles, in fact many young raptors, wouldn't survive without two devoted parents.

These two are truly a team and are quite fond of each other. They talk together, fly together, roost together, hunt together. And take turns caring for their young.

Last weekend, we had glorious sunny weather here with temps in the 60s. I took the opportunity to visit the nest area at least once a day. Early evening about

an hour before sunset always offers at least a couple of chances to photograph last activity before sleep.

Papa lifted off from the snag and headed for another favorite tree directly over the nest tree. Meanwhile I spotted mama flying out of the trees near the nest, and they both started talking to each other in that chortling call they use with kin. They both circled around the nesting area, then settled atop the tree close to each other. And talked and talked. The whole experience lasted maybe 10 minutes.

Then mama flew back to the next and disappeared into its depths. She's probably still sitting on eggs, so can take short stretch breaks but cannot leave for more than a few minutes. Looking at these images again, though, I think that's actually papa who left the shared tree for the nest. Mama is bigger and has a bill that comes almost straight out from her head. Papa has more of an indent at the juncture between his forehead and bill. These two are fabulous parents, to be sure.

I started photographing this pair in April 2011. Since then, I've observed and learned their routines, how they interact with humans and other animals. And, of course, photographed hundreds of eagle activities.

And, so it begins again.

Waiting herons

 

Many great blue herons hunt in the Nisqually River delta and Puget Sound. I once watched a heron hunting at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge for half an hour. They are very patient hunters, slowly walking or wading, then like snapping up prey in the blink of an eye. Wait for it...BAM!

I wrote about Today's Pterodactyl last month in this blog. I'm hoping to photograph one of the heron rookeries this spring. In the meantime, I'll scan the skies for those massive wings and the river delta for patient hunters.

New eagle at the nest

This is about a month ahead of when I've seen nesting activity on our hill for the past few years. I've spotted my favorite eagle pair once so far this winter. They flew over us in early January during our usual evening walk. I photographed papa eagle in one of the favorite trees in November. I've also spotted adult and juvenile eagles in the distance at Nisqually National Wildlife refuge. I don't know if the pair are among them or not.

Yesterday, I spotted a young female bald eagle atop a tree near the ridge. I watched and photographed her for a few minutes, then she flew off to one of the trees in the nesting area a few blocks away. There have been reports of a new roosting area about a half mile from the nest. I've been checking that area about once a week and occasionally see juvenile eagles. I haven't seen any nest-building there though. Last night, I drove down to the new area after this young adult flew from the ridge. When I drove past the tree where she was roosting en route home, she was still there. Is she a new potential mate, or is she looking for a mate while attempting to claim the nest? There doesn't appear to be much building activity at the current nest site either.

Bald eagles don't breed until they're mature, at about five years old. If there's a sparse population of eagles in an area, they may breed as young as four years old. Their age corresponds with the emergence of pure white heads and tails. That's how I know the female I photographed yesterday wasn't fully mature. She still has a light gray mask by her eyes and her tail feathers are tipped in black.

Last April, a young adult female visited the nest area, staying for several minutes. She was clearly interested in what was happening in the nest which was most certainly mama eagle incubating her eggs. This could be the same eagle.

Today's Pterodactyl

National Public Radio's popular and long-running BirdNote® calls the great blue heron a "modern day pterodactyl." The great blue heron is the largest heron in North America. The great egret, a slightly smaller and white version of modern pterodactyl, is second largest. We've begun to see great egrets more frequently, even one that wintered at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge.

Scientists believe that birds are descended from dinosaurs, so it's really not much of a stretch to believe these creatures were once much larger and more fierce predators.

Herons pretty much eat anything they can catch and swallow. I've watched them hunting fish but recently saw one catch a mole. I wondered how it could swallow something so large. I saw this heron catch it, shake it, then hop into the water. He came back to the hunting area a few minutes later without his prey.

They're usually solitary birds, except when they nest which they do in large rookeries with 25, 50, even 100 nests in close proximity to each other. I'm hoping to find a rookery to photograph this spring. You can see more heron photography in my Low Tide Gallery and Water Wings Gallery.

Eagle siblings

A juvenile male, about a year old, observes duck action on the lagoon below

Last summer one of my friends asked how I could possibly know that the eagles I saw in the Nisqually delta were "my eagles," the eagle family I've been observing and photographing for several months. A strong hunch based on observation and what I've learned about bald eagles.

Many raptors set invisible boundaries around their nesting areas. Bald eagles generally don't allow other bald eagles within a mile radius of their nests before the kids fledge. When I spotted two adults hunting down on the delta, they were almost directly below the nest area. Mama eagle snagged a fish and flew up to the ridge, where I've observed them numerous times traveling back to the nest, only from the ridge viewpoint.

Sister eagle (on left) takes over a prime spot her brother was in a couple of seconds before.

So how do I know that two juvenile bald eagles I photographed at Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge are the kids of "my eagles?" A strong hunch based on observation and what I've learned about this bald eagle clan. There are two active nests on the DuPont side of the Nisqually delta. I've seen and photographed the Red Salmon Creek eagle clan on a few occasions. In late summer, I see them in the southeast sky practicing eagle maneuvers on the thermals along the ridge. Sometimes there are several juveniles, soaring, dipping, flying in formation, and practicing the courting sky dance, where they link talons and spin in the air.

Sister eagle takes over the prime spot while her brother heads for another area.

These two are young, not more than a year old. I observed them a couple of times in the past week. I saw some similar behavior that I saw when they had just started flying but were still being fed by mom and dad at the nest. They were as big as their parents, actually a bit bigger...Ma Nature gives young eagles "training wheel" wings that are slightly longer than adult eagles. Mama or Papa would drop off food, then get out of the way. These two often engaged in a food fight (link to a blog entry from July). One would steal a chunk of food and fly off to another tree.

The two at the Nisqually refuge are about the right age and are male and female. Later that afternoon, brother eagle displaced his sister in another tree above the Nisqually River. She flew off to a snag in the center of the marsh. A growing collection of favorite images from the past year can be found in my Fauna collection.