Come On Spring!

You never know just what kind of winter to expect in Dayton, Ohio. Some are mild with just a few sub-zero days while others hit hard and just refuse to go away. This winter has been the latter. I’ve always enjoyed the change of seasons but this year I am really looking forward to spring!

And so are Jim, Cindy and their noisy neighbors.

Montgomery County’s only pair of nesting Bald Eagles are once again proving to be faithful incubators. They continue to take turns keeping their eggs warm and turned as the following picture illustrates. It shows Cindy arriving in the background as Jim departs in the foreground. The exchange only takes a minute or two before the arriving eagle has carefully settled onto the eggs.

Changing incubators.

 With the cold temperatures the eagles are frequently adding grass and other greenery to the soft brooding pocket in the center of the nest. As they incubate they are continually pulling this material around the clutch to reduce any drafts and better insulate the precious eggs from the chilling air. It is a very careful and quiet process.

More fresh bedding.

In stark contrast though, the Great Blue Heron rookery that decorates three sycamore trees not too far from the aerie is anything but quiet. It is a noisy hive of activity as dozens of heron prepare their own nurseries for this spring’s hatchlings.

The heronry.

All of that heronry reconstruction requires new building material and the Great Blues prefer sticks too small for Jim and Cindy to use. Currently the air traffic is pretty consistent with the birds’ arrivals and departures.

One more stick.

Although these long-necked waders have learned to give the aerie its proper respect, Jim and Cindy will still sometimes need to scream a warning at any Great Blues that venture too close to their palace.

A friendly warning?

(Please allow me to add a cautionary reminder: Should you find yourself blessed with the opportunity to view nesting activity, please respect the birds’ privacy and do not venture too close to their nests. The pictures posted here are taken through super-telephoto lenses and are usually cropped and edited. Keeping the eggs safe and warm is a constant challenge and the survival of the fragile life inside those shells depends on it. In the case of eagles and many other birds, disturbing their nesting habitat or causing them stress is also illegal.)

All in all, these nesting activities are sure signs that spring will soon return to the area. The daylight hours are getting longer and that sunshine is a little warmer. (It is even looking like we may have pretty decent weather for this Saturday’s gathering with Five River MetroParks to talk about the eagles and view the aerie through spotting scopes. We will meet at the east end of Eastwood Lake at 10 AM.) Eventually winter’s icy grip will fail and we will break free from its grasp. Crocus, tulips, daffodils and hyacinths are working their way toward the surface of the frozen soil. With the fragrant freshness of spring will come the hatching of eggs and the beginning of the feeding frenzy that proclaims the presence of eaglets in the aerie! Come on spring!

Do You Want To Learn More?

If you would like to learn more about Jim and Cindy and get to know them a little better, please come and join us.

Five River MetroParks is having an event on Saturday, March 8, 2014 at 10:00 AM at Eastwood Lake. The 90 minute event is called “Soaring Eagles And Quacking Ducks Along The Mad River” and the Eastwood Eagle Watchers will be leading the first portion of the event. We will be talking about Jim and Cindy and their struggles and triumphs since they settled in the well field in 2008. There will be scopes focused on the aerie for your use in viewing the eagles just 1/2 mile away.  Just yesterday I found one of our eagles feeding on dead ducks frozen to the ice on the lake. I watched for about twenty minutes as it pulled, tugged and twisted its frozen entrée to free it from winter’s icy grip. Then it passed over the spot where we will be meeting, circling several times only 60 feet above the ground. I am hoping that Jim or Cindy will fly by and wave at us.

The second portion of the event will focus on waterfowl at Eastwood Lake and nearby Huffman Lake. Walk ins are welcome but MetroParks is requesting registration by contacting them at 937.277.4178 so they can estimate how many people may be attending.

I have been in touch with our partners at The Boonshoft Museum, The City of Dayton Water Department and Copp Integrated Systems (who actually provide and maintain the cameras) regarding the need to re-aim both Eagle Cams. These folks are all good people and dedicated to this project and I am sure the work will be done as soon as possible. Please understand that he wooden utility poles supporting the cameras are in the middle of grassy areas and the heavy layer of snow had made it impossible for a large bucket truck to reach them. Now that the snow is gone the supersaturated ground will not support the weight of the truck. Further complicating the issue is the fact that the eagles are now incubating the egg(s). While Jim and Cindy are accustomed to the presence of heavy trucks in the well field and the poles are some distance from the nesting tree, we will not do anything that might cause them stress or pose a possible threat to the well-being of the egg(s). When conditions permit, an attempt will be made to correct the problem but if Jim and Cindy react at all, the crews will back off and try again in late April when the eaglets are a few weeks old and able to maintain their own body heat. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

Now on a personal note: The Eastwood Eagle Watchers and Jim and Cindy  have lost a faithful and dear friend. Cindy Kennedy passed away this week just 19 days shy of her 62nd birthday. Our eagles were named in honor of Cindy and her late husband. Jim Kennedy worked for the City of Dayton Water Department and had passed away shortly before our eagles began nesting in the well field and the staff there dubbed the eagles “Jim and Cindy” in his honor. Anyone who has experienced the thrill of seeing a wild Bald Eagle in flight knows how uplifting it can be. Cindy loved to sit quietly and watch her eagle caress the clouds with her feathers and grace the skies with her majesty. She will be greatly missed.

A Happy Riddle

What do you buy by the dozen but are easily cracked?

OK, that wasn’t that hard but I am betting you said “eggs” and that is what we have in Jim and Cindy’s nest this morning!

Their first egg of 2014 arrived overnight. Although we have not seen the egg itself, we have seen the knuckle-walking, apparent egg-turning and Cindy is staying down in the center of the nest! We are expecting thunderstorms tomorrow evening that may be severe and that is usually the way that they do it just to make us worry a bit. We are hoping that there will be a few more eggs over the next few days. This first one should hatch on March 26th!

 

And Away We Go!

The Boonshoft Museum’s 2014 Eagle-Cam is up and running for another year! This is the fourth year that The Eastwood Eagle Watchers have partnered with The Boonshoft Museum of Discovery to provide on-line, live, streaming video, photos and field updates of Jim and Cindy’s nesting season. The video stream can be found at boonshoftmuseum.org. Just click on the Raptor-Cam 2014 link and then choose the ”Live Stream” button under the Eagle-Cam logo. There you will find 2 camera angles that you can toggle between. The cameras both need to be re-aimed a bit but the snowy conditions at the nest site have hindered that work. Our cameras are utility pole-mounted and provide views looking up at the south side and the north-west side of the aerie. Re-aiming the cameras requires that a bucket truck can safely access the poles. We do not have a camera mounted above the nest as Jim and Cindy’s Treetop Palace is indeed in the top of the tree. Therefore we cannot provide a view of the nursery floor .

This project is made possible through support from our corporate partners (McAfee Heating and Air, The McAfee Foundation for Children and Youth, Copp Integrated Systems, Beef ‘O’Brady’s and The City of Dayton Water Department) as well as the private donations of Jim and Cindy’s many fans and followers.

There are no eggs yet but we expect them very soon, unless the extremely frigid temperatures have delayed things a bit. Last week’s sub-zero lows are giving way to highs in the 50s later this week so maybe the bitter winter weather is finally behind us.

The eagles have been working on the nest constantly during the past week and have had some disagreements as to where certain sticks should be woven into the nest. These tug-a-wars, with an eagle pulling on either end of a stick as if they were trying to straighten it, always end with Cindy winning and placing the stick wherever she desires. Jim never wins an argument with his mate. (I can relate.) But that is almost always as it should be as the wife is almost always right! (I included that last statement just in case my own wife should ever see this posting.)

So the rest is up to Jim and Cindy. I hope that they realize that we are all hoping to see three little big-beaked heads peeking over the rim of the nest in April!

Something To Think About

As I type these words another 2 inches of snow is falling outside and the forecasters are calling for another night of subzero temperatures. As I sit in my chair and try not to be depressed by the weather outside, my spirit is buoyed as I contemplate the signs of spring that have blessed my heart this week. No, I have not yet seen a crocus or tulip poking up through the ever-present snow layer in my yard, nor have I noticed any budding trees, but another layer and other buds have recently brightened my mood.

My buds, Jim and Cindy, have been working on that palace in the treetops in anticipation of the day when our layer will deposit her first egg of 2014.

Last Monday I captured the following image of Cindy working on the aerie while Jim brought home a duck for lunch. Although the picture was taken from 1/2 mile away, if you look closely you will see the duck dangling from Jim’s talons.

Duck “Dine-asty”

They had both been working on the nest when Jim took a quick trip over to Eastwood Lake, grabbed some take-out and flew back home. He does this occasionally during nest-building but will do it more often during the first of the 5 weeks of incubation. Cindy will be nest-bound for a number of days as she lays her eggs. They have added quite a bit of material to the sides of the nest and we are wondering if we will even be able to see the adults’ heads this year as the incubate the eggs on the nest’s floor. We have not seen much of our girl the last few days which had me wondering if she was already sitting on eggs. The lakes are frozen over and Jim is fishing the rivers but Cindy is staying near the well field. Yesterday, however, we saw both Jim and Cindy working on the nest for a while and with temperatures in the low twenties the odds are pretty good that there are no eggs yet but that should change this week or next!

While the lakes have been inactive, the Great Miami River immediately north of downtown Dayton, and just 4.3 miles from the aerie as the eagle flies, has been anything but! As often happens during the winter months, we have had other eagles wander through the area this week. For several days a very large female has been hanging out in that area.

The young female.

She first appeared on Thursday and looks to be a four-year-old bird judging by her yellow/gray beak, gray/white head, gray/white tail and her wing feather coloration. And she is huge! Impressively huge. The first day that she was around we witnessed Jim interacting with her. She had caught a fish from his river as the Canada Geese looked on.

The catch.

She flew with her catch to the riverbank as Jim watched and circled high above the river. When she landed with the fish, Jim descended. She was not too pleased and screamed her displeasure towards the approaching eagle before burying her catch in the snow. There was a brief dispute but Jim did not seem very aggressive. Normally he does not tolerate poachers but this time he quietly stood nearby as she ate her catch.

The Scream.

It’s mine! Stay away!

Hiding her fish in the snow.

Watching the big girl eat.

A tender moment?

The pair even flew together for a while.

Jim and the younger woman?

Jim and Cindy’s surviving 2011 eaglet, Pride, will turn 3 next month and will begin her fourth year of life. I doubt that she would appear this old yet but Jim’s attitude towards her was atypical. It may be that he just did not see a young female as a threat to his domain. He may have just thought that she was really cute. I don’t know, but it was fun to watch the encounter. Young adult eagles do sometimes return to their childhood homes in search of a territory of their own.

Then on Friday, the young female was joined by a young male who appeared to be very close to her age. The pair spent the morning in a large sycamore tree on the west bank of the river, leaving the tree every so often to fly together, tumble together, fish and dine. At one point the male flew to the tree with a stick in his talons. This is a very urban setting and literally just a few hundred feet from where our last eagle’s nest had been abandoned in 1938. To the west are houses. To the east, across the river, are several baseball and softball diamonds that now occupy what used to be McCook Field, one of the world’s first airfields, where Orville Wright trained Army pilots to fly. (The airfield’s motto was, “Our runway is short. Use all of it.”) It is exciting to see Bald Eagles in Dayton again and a the fulfillment of my long-time dream but their close proximity to people, especially adolescent males, concerns me a bit.

Young love.

As they frolicked together just a few hundred feet north of I-75, Jim landed in a tree just 100 feet south of I-75. The young male left his sycamore tree and flew towards Jim’s perch. There he landed on the very top of a vertical branch.

Young male landing.

This perch was  just slightly higher than Jim’s perch and just to Jim’s left. Jim was not amused.

Young male & Jim.

Now, I do not speak Bald Eagle but quite a conversation followed. It was interesting. It was animated. It was LOUD. And it was brief. Within a few minutes Jim had made his point and had had enough of the youngster’s lip. Simultaneously four wings flapped and the chase was on. I watched the young female as she sat in that sycamore watching the two males approaching her. The stranger bobbed and weaved as Jim matched his every move. Closer and closer to her tree they flew, eventually passing just over its branches. In the picture below you can see the female still perched in the middle, right of the tree as the male and Jim pass overhead. The male managed to circle the tree once as if to wave goodbye before Jim chased him off to the north. I watched them for several minutes as they faded into the distant sky.

The chase. (3 eagles.)

Then I had to chuckle as I turned back towards the sycamore and spotted the lone form of a young, forlorn female Bald Eagle, now perched on the very top twigs of her giant tree watching her suitor disappear from sight.

“What just happened!?”

Although I doubt if this female is Pride, it sure looked like a dad with a “Not with my daughter you don’t!” attitude to me. Either way, it sure gives you something to think about.

What Are You Doing On February 17th?

Jim and Cindy would like to know.

On that date (barring any unforeseen problems) our Dayton, Ohio resident Bald Eagles will again become internet sensations as our partners at The Boonshoft Museum of Discovery will begin their fourth year of streaming live video of the aerie in the City of Dayton Mad River Well Field! The link to the video feed will be found on the boonshoftmuseum.org Raptor Cam page. There you will also find a link to many more of Roger’s stunning pictures as well as a link to this blog to keep everyone updated on progress at the nest and the parts of the story that the fixed video camera cannot show.

Jim and Cindy are doing their part to make the 2014 nesting season a successful one. I watched them diligently working on the nursery this morning. As in years past, Cindy stayed in the nest arranging and rearranging sticks while Jim brought more and more building materials to the nest. I did not see Jim bringing any moss, evergreen boughs or grass to the nest, although I was quite a distance away, so the nursery floor is not being carpeted yet. But all indications are that we are on schedule for the first egg being deposited in the nest in mid-February again this year.

Jim and Cindy, along with several wandering adults and juvenile Bald Eagles, are fishing the rivers downtown. Roger, Ray and I have captured many images over the last week of the action. As long as the lakes are frozen over, the rivers are the pantries of choice. There is still a pool of open water in the center of Eastwood Lake and that pool has provided a good fishing spot over the past month but ice fishermen have set up tents on the frozen surface of the lake and the human presence has scared the eagles and other wildlife away. Eventually the fishermen will leave as the ice thins but the unfrozen lake will allow the eagles a much wider pool to fish from and make viewing them more difficult.

What are you doing on February 17th? I invite you to join me in developing a healthy habit of regularly checking up on Jim and Cindy as the 2014 nesting season live-video streaming begins.

It’s Almost Time!

The bitter, biting wind whistles through the frigid air as it races unobstructed across the frozen surface of Eastwood Lake mocking the roar of the hydroplanes that raced across these same waters many summers ago. There are no cheering, swimsuit-clad crowds on the shore on this day, no vendors nor picnickers as far as the eye can see. Today there are but a few parka-clad spectators peering through car windows hoping to see an entirely different spectacle. Each short venture into the elements just outside the warm and protected confines of your automobile is a bit painful as you breathe in the icy air and hundreds of microscopic crystal daggers stab your cheeks and flash-freeze your nostrils. It is January 15th and the cold heart of winter has found us once again. You slowly pull your car into a position that provides you with a clear view of the only unfrozen pool of water on the lake where dozens of waterfowl bob up and down on the choppy waves. This is the stage on which todays performance will play out. The determined sunlight struggles to fight its way through the stubborn clouds and the winter winds buffet your car as you ready your camera and settle in for a potentially long wait.

Lights. Camera. Action!

A rush of warmth sweeps over you as the form of a juvenile Bald Eagle emerges from the just behind the distant tree tops to the east. Each strong, measured beat of its majestic wings brings it closer and closer to the open pool! You watch its approach in anticipation. It makes a few slow circles in the sky, several hundred feet from your motorized blind, assessing the world below. As you toy with the idea of driving forward, the youngster breaks its spiral and heads directly for the pool. Your patience has paid off.  You roll down the car window and focus your camera on the first-year juvenile hunting prey on the lake. It is no surprise that the eagle seems to be focusing on the group of Coots in the middle of the pool. Each pass creates an uneasy frenzy of flapping, bobbing and diving as the Coots avoid accepting the eagle’s dinner invitation. After a few minutes of focused attention through your viewfinder you are surprised to see another form flashing just above the surface of the pool. An adult Bald Eagle has entered the scene! Jim has come to the pool and you watch as he lands gracefully on the edge of the ice, just beyond the choppy water. He sits and intently watches his hunting offspring. You sit and watch them both. As the wind whistles and your camera shutter chatters you are thankful for this blessing and you wonder, “Can it get any better than this?”

So many choices!

Jim watching his juvie hunt.

It can.

After several minutes Jim launches from his icy perch like a rocket! His flight is straight, focused and determined! Something has caught his eye! This is an eagle on a mission! For a split-second you wonder if he has spotted a threat, perhaps a wandering adult eagle in his domain, or maybe he has spotted some prey of his own. As you follow Jim’s vanishing form to the east end of the lake you glimpse a flash of movement through the  barren branches and blowing crystals. You recognize the dark form of the broad wings of an adult Bald Eagle circling just above the lake! And now there are two! It is Cindy and Jim has joined his beloved in a ballet of ecstasy in the glimmering sunbeams! There is no toying with ideas now as you throw your car into drive and make your way east. Your vehicle slows to a crawl as you spot the pair standing side by side on the frozen lake. Your shutter sings as you capture frame after frame (almost 700 frames) of the two of them simply enjoying their togetherness. For the next forty minutes they pose for your lens. This may well be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The ice crystal-laden air dulls your pictures but not your excitement as you view the images of this special encounter, this natural and romantic spectacle. You smile as you realize that you have been richly blessed and have captured many of the moods of this pair of well-taloned lovers.

A brief, but passionate, conversation.

Stealing a kiss.

Always searching.

Always watchful.

Windblown but together.

Captivating!

That was my experience a few days ago. That is what January and courting season is all about. As I look back on these images I realize that the cycle continues. Jim and Cindy are inseparable right now. Mating is just around the corner and we are just about a month from egg laying and incubation. During incubation Jim and Cindy will share the labor of keeping the eggs protected, rotated and warm for 35 days. Often the non-sitting adult will deliver food to its mate in the nest. Their dedication to each other and their shared tenderness always amazes me. Nesting season is a wonderful season and watching the courting behavior exhibited on the frozen surface of a lake on a windy January day reminds me that new life and new beginnings are just around the corner. It’s almost time!

Hunting Lessons

One of the big advantages of watching Jim and Cindy in the winter is that they are so much easier to find. Not only are there no leaves to hide their easy-to-identify silhouettes, but when the frigid temperatures freeze the surface water of the smaller lakes of their domain, you know just where to look for them. They and their juveniles can be found either fishing along the rivers or hunting waterfowl on the yet-unfrozen pools of water in the center of their larger lakes.

That is currently the case at Eastwood Lake. Near the center of the lake, just a few hundred feet from shore, the cold, choppy water has yet to freeze. The size of the pool varies from day to day as does its inhabitants, but the contrast between the dark blue water and the bright white snow covering the adjacent frozen surface is quite striking. Here in this small pool, Coots, Mute Swans, Goldeneyes, Canada Geese, gulls and other waterfowl wile away the day bobbing, dipping and diving or just sitting on the nearby ice. We have noticed how popular this pool has become over the last few weeks. The eagles have noticed it too. Sitting in a warm car parked along the shore with a hot cup of coffee and a sandwich can be a wonderful way to spend a couple of hours as you watch for hungry eagles coming to raid the icebox.

Eagles are often scavengers and usually will not pass up a free meal. Roger captured the following series of images of Jim snatching a dead Coot from the pool and then warily dining poolside.

Jim spotting the dead Coot.

Zeroing in on his target.

Precision, power and concentration!

The snatch!

Carrying his prize.

Checking for any threats to his catch.

Dining and leaving a trail of feathers in the wind.

Then today he was able to watch a juvenile do a little Coot scootin’ of its own. It came up empty but decided to pass about 30 feet from Roger’s Jeep as it flew towards the river.

Decisions, decisions. Heads or tails?

Coot scootin.

Another unsuccessful pass.

The flyby.

Passing just 30 feet away.

Caught mid-blink.

It is a thrill to watch the action of this adventure as it unfolds. Today, as I was sitting and waiting and watching I was thinking how January and February used to be depressing months of daylight deprivation and cabin fever but, since Jim and Cindy arrived and set up residence in the well field, they have become two of the most enjoyable months of the year. Additionally I realized that instead of focusing on lunch, this juvenile Bald Eagle should have paid more attention to technique as Dad was teaching last summer’s hunting lessons.

Just a Quick Update

Now that the Polar Vortex with its subzero temperatures has left the region there is some good news to report!

The Eastwood wildlife seems to have survived the cold snap quite well. As I was watching a first-year juvenile Bald Eagle hunting Coot on a small open water area in the middle of the otherwise frozen lake…

Scootin’ Coots

Roger was down at Deeds’ Point in downtown Dayton watching Jim and Cindy snuggle close together on a riverside perch.

Love birds downtown.

Our little Whitetail Deer family even made an appearance at Eastwood Lake. Ever-vigilant Dad was foraging and nibbling from the trees…

Watchful Buck.

Buck munching from branches.

while Mom was keeping a close eye on her very hungry 2013 twins.

Hungry doe and twins,

Alert and cautious Mama.

Oh deer! Look at that face!

The only casualty that we have found was a duck. We found its frozen body under some power lines near Harshman Road. It appeared to have struck the lines in the inclement weather. Knowing that the frozen bird might draw an eagle towards the traffic, we relocated the remains to the safety of the frozen surface of the lake. The following morning, one eagle watcher observed  Jim retrieve the frozen breakfast and carry it off.

Roger did happen upon a scene that we did not like. As he was driving down Interstate 75 just south of Dayton, he saw an adult Bald Eagle fly from the median to the nearby trees. Dead deer and other road kill can be a dangerous meal to scavenging eagles.

A Winter’s Day on Frozen Pond

Ashen skies of pale hue

Canopy the hoary dew,

Surrounding water frozen fast

By winter’s frigid, Arctic blast.

Yet near a pool of water, still,

Gather fowl with beak and bill.

Here the hunter and the prey

Pause to dream of sun-drenched days.

Then hunger stirs the eagle’s breast.

Peace is shattered! Gone is rest!

With frenzied flaps the chase is on!

Tis a winter’s day on frozen pond.