Beginning to Roam

The hot, arid weather of the past few months has had an effect on everyone, including our local eagles. Even after several fairly heavy showers and thunderstorms last week and a slight decrease in temperature over the past few days, smaller ponds and lakes are noticeably lower than normal. Even the Mad River is looking a bit malnourished these days.

We visited the well field early Saturday morning to check on the welfare of our Bald Eagle family. The sun had just emerged above the eastern horizon and greeted us with  a spectacular palette of various shades of red. A welcomed coolness in the air, missing for far too long, added to the beauty of the new dawn. As we watched the ducks, heron and geese explore the otherwise glassy water, the rose-colored sky transitioned slowly into a sea of gold. It is that  time of day when you can find yourself standing awestruck by the sheer beauty and magic of nature.

A lone eaglet flew into view, attempted to land on a protected utility pole but apparently changed its mind and disappeared back over the treeline.

Other animals were all around us. Some were just starting their day while others were returning to places of seclusion and solitude for a quiet time of rest. A shy Whitetail doe cautiously passed by, freezing for a few moments to watch us before raising her flag and bounding away. In the shallows of the river a parade of Whitetail bucks drank, splashed and locked antlers in mock battle as several ducks waded nearby. A mother raccoon watched the action as she hunted for breakfast among the half-submerged stones and her three babies watched from the base of the river bank.

The juvenile eagles have been harder to find lately. They are beginning to roam, no longer constantly together and not always tagging along behind Dad. This indicates that they have likely learned to successfully fish on their own, although no one has yet seen them do so. Cindy has been AWOL for quite a while. It is common for her to wander off after the eaglets fledge the nest and leave most of the training to Jim.

But as we watched the area of Eagle Lake, one of several lakes within the well field, two adult eagles passed overhead and headed towards the waterfall created by the low dam a little farther upstream. There we found Jim sitting in one of his favorite lofty perches, silently looking out over his domain. The other eagle was nowhere to be found. We hoped and assumed that it was Cindy but we were unable to make a definite identification. It is always a bit of a relief when an adult returns to the area. There are so many threats to their health and safety that the longer the absence lasts the more we begin to grow concern.

We have also heard reports of a year-old juvenile regularly fishing the waters of the Great Miami River in the area. It may be Pride, the surviving 2011 juvenile. For now we are content with the progress of the juveniles and the outlook for all six the eagles of Eastwood.

Published in: on July 30, 2012 at 3:02 am  Comments (2)  

A Typical Day Eagle Watching

A day watching eagles is a day spent in nature, and that is a day very well spent. Many of the visitors to this blog may not have the opportunity to ever spend such a day so let take you along on a typical outing to spend some time with our Dayton Bald Eagles.

The adventure usually begins with a gathering of a handful of eagle watchers, each packing their necessary gear: cameras with very long lenses, binoculars, monopods, tripods, coolers, folding chairs and such. Our guiding rule is to do nothing that would disturb or hinder the eagles in any way. Now that the nesting season has drawn to a close the viewing offers a few additional challenges as the eagle’s activity is no longer focused on the nest and they could be anywhere. After we have made our way to a suitable spot we settle in and wait for the eagles to pass our way.

Even in the 90 degree heat the wait is always interesting. The lakes and the nearby river draw animals of all shapes and sizes. Although the activity is greatest in the coolness of the early morning or late evening, even the simmering afternoon hours provide plenty of excuses to make the camera shutters chatter. Belted Kingfishers perch on leafy branches, Great Blue Heron wade along the shore and Little Green Heron dance in the recesses of half-submerged, fallen trees. An Osprey circles hungrily overhead accompanied by a few sea gulls. Each bird is keenly focused on the water in hopes of finding a tasty meal. Various ducks, geese and other waterfowl join them in the search. As we sit and wait beaver, muskrats and mink may be seen in or near the lake. A bullfrog’s baritone aria occasionally floats over the water’s surface from his hiding place in the fuzzy cattails.  Warblers, sparrows, cardinals, robins, red wings, kingbirds and others small birds sing and flit among the nearby trees and bushes. Even a Pileated Woodpecker flies an undulating path through the air, creating flashes of black and white as it flaps its wings. The not-to-distant uproar of, “Caw! Caw! Caw!” alerts us to the possibility that some passing crows have found an eagle, hawk or perhaps a roosting owl in the trees a little beyond or view. And, of course, a funeral procession of circling turkey vultures is never far away.

Then from the distance and just above the treetops we see the unmistakable form of a young Bald Eagle gliding our way. Each of us have just a few seconds to decide if we want to attempt to capture the approaching bird with our cameras or just sit back and take it all in. We almost always opt for the former. As the shutters again begin their insistent chattering the juvenile circle low over the lake once, then twice, and then disappears back behind the treeline. We settle back into our chairs as the wait begins anew.

By now the sun has journeyed to the western sky and the bright sunlight of midday has taken on a golden hue and has made the capturing of a decent image a bit more of a  challenge. But with the dwindling light comes a slight break in the heat and together they usher in a magical moment in nature when the denizens of the night begin to stir. Across the field, a Whitetail doe slowly and cautiously emerges from the dense wood that has provided her with cool shelter during the heat of the day. After a few steps she stops and watches us watch her. Sensing no threat she continues her slow walk towards the refreshing waters of the river. Soon, another young doe and its fawn join her and together they march on across the clearing. At the river’s edge they find two young bucks with velvet-covered antlers already quenching their late day thirst. Silently the ever-cautious bucks inch their way across the shallow  flowing river. On reaching the far bank they too stop and peer our way assessing the situation. Then they slowly seem to evaporate into the brush as the two does follow along with the prancing fawn bringing up the rear. The mother racoon and her three little ones searching under the rocks in the shallows for crawfish, hardly even noticed the Whitetail parade passing by.

Some people would rather spend the evening watching television but I really enjoy spending those hours watching wildlife. Yes there are mosquitos and gnats and the thermostat is out of my control but the action is real and the plot is never contrived. The air is fresh and the fellowship is fulfilling. I am never sure exactly what I am going to see but there are no political ads, no loud commercials and when the show is over, I never feel like I have wasted the hours that I sat watching. Something within us needs the solitude of that communion with nature. We were created to be a part of it all. For me, the best way to watch wildlife is to quietly sit and let the wildlife come to me.

Time spent in nature is always time very well spent.

Published in: on July 19, 2012 at 12:10 am  Comments (4)  

Music Appreciation 101

I imagine that for a juvenile Bald Eagle just learning to fly, instinct provides about 90% of the necessary knowledge and the other 10% is acquired through observation and experimentation. But for the average eagle watcher, 100% of the fun is just observing the process.

As I have stated so often, an eagle elevates flying from a method of locomotion to an art form! Within the wingbeats of an adult Bald Eagle there resides a certain rhythm, a cadence, that at times can appear almost melodic in its beauty and gracefulness.  Two eagles joyfully frolicking through the skies create a sort of silent symphony as they interact with one another. They can transition from a soothing synchronization of the ebb and flow of steady flight to a crescendo of tumbling somersaults instantly and then effortlessly transition again to a singularly strong fading note as they rise into the heavens and soar out of sight. If you have taken the time to truly witnessed an eagle in flight then you understand exactly what I am trying to express. If you have not, then the music is likely beyond the limits of your imagination. You may think that I am merely waxing poetic in my description, but let me assure you that my words fail to give it justice. It is simply thrilling.

Watching our three eaglets interact with each other and their parents as they hone their abilities is wonderful. Jim is every bit the maestro as he leads and directs their education. The young eagles so often would stutter and falter and their flight was hesitant and unsteady. The powerful drive in the thrusting downstroke of their parent’s wings was obviously missing from their own. Although at times they seem to dwarf the adults in size, there was no mastery of their art, no confidence in their abilities and therefore no grandeur in their flight. As they interacted with each other on wing they appeared to be bickering and at times almost colliding into one another. But during the last few weeks of consistent training there has been a subtle change taking place in those marvelous young wings. A balance of power and control is developing. Confidence is growing. Grace is budding. As they fly together, even their playfulness has taken on the promise of something greater. They will fly by side and one will suddenly flip onto its back and grasp at the talons of its sibling but rather than flinch and recoil, the other will respond in kind. It is rather reminiscent of two accomplished ballet dancers gliding in unison across the stage. They haven’t quite mastered their art as of yet but they have come such a long way from where they had begun. And always the parents are watching. Whether with them in the air or from a perch below, they are always watching.

At this point last year we had lost Spirit and young Pride’s movement across the sky was sadly a solo dance. This year the sky is a bit crowded and the dance troupe has many new steps yet to learn. But as I sit and watch the recital above me, I realize how magically majestic the dancers are becoming as the beautiful music swells and I pray that the silent symphony will fill the skies above Dayton for years to come and that there will always be some fortunate soul below, blessed with the privilege to hear the unhearable melody and to be captivated by the age-old ballet.

Published in: on July 15, 2012 at 6:02 am  Comments (2)  

Protecting These Young Ones

Before the three 2012 eaglets had fledged from the nest we had urged our local utility company, Dayton Power and Light, to install avian protection devices on the utility poles within the eagles’ section of the well field. We had learned from experience that the eaglets would soon find these unobstructed perches very desirable. The devices were installed on the crossarms of over two dozen poles before their supply was depleted. Then the eaglets fledged.

Experience soon became the best teacher again as the eaglets were still drawn to the poles but now chose the insulators and the pole tops as their landing pads. Although this lessened the threat of electrocution somewhat, they were still in real danger. Our intent was to discourage perching on the poles at all.

On Tuesday, July 10, 2012, three of our group joined the DP&L crews for 8 hours as we again addressed the problem and installed additional devices. Our task was to show the crews which poles were most crucial to retrofit. Our focus was the pole tops as well as the crossarms. With the use of 4 bucket trucks, nine men installed the devices on 5 more poles, replaced bare wire jumpers with weatherproof, insulated wire, repaired severed ground wires on a number of poles and installed ridge pins and other devices to make landing on the pole tops more difficult. The eaglets spent the greater part of the day watching the activity from the nesting tree across the river.

This morning I returned to the wellfield to try to assess if we had had any success at all. I found two eaglets perched in the trees near the poles and one sitting atop a pole that was yet unprotected just a short distance away. I marked that pole and notified my DP&L contact of the pole number and location. The poles that they had worked on the previous day were all unoccupied!

Although this is admittedly just a start as there are dozens and dozens of poles in the wellfield supporting the conductors that carry electricity over great distances to power the water pumps, we have had some success in the area most frequented by the eaglets. We know from watching Pride, the surviving 2011 eaglet, that after a few months of experience the eaglets will leave the openness of the poles for the leafy canopy of the hundreds of trees in the area and the shady seclusion that they offer. The threat will  always be there but we are glad that both Dayton Power and Light and The City of Dayton Water Department understand the urgent need to protect these young ones.

Published in: on July 11, 2012 at 9:52 pm  Comments (3)  

Fruitful Meeting to Address Pole Issues

Several of the Eastwood Eagle Watchers  and  a City of Dayton Water Department official met with supervisors from the Dayton Power and Light Company inside the well field this morning to address the obvious eaglet safety issues. We agreed on which of the poles to install the avian protection devices next. They are in possession of enough devices to cover 12 more poles. The work will be completed tomorrow. We also discussed better ways to discourage the eaglets from perching on the poles on which the devices were previously installed as well as the possibility of installing a tall pole with crossbeams but no wiring near the area that is still presenting some challenges.

All three eaglets and both adults were seen flying nearby and all appear to be healthy. We cannot stop the eaglets from perching on poles but we can surely discourage the behavior. DP&L seems very willing and eager to do what they can to protect the eaglets.

Published in: on July 9, 2012 at 5:54 pm  Leave a Comment  

More Nasty Utility Pole News

When Dayton Power and Light, our local utility company, installed the avian protection devices on their utility poles nearest the eagle’s nest this spring, they ran out of devices before they ran out of poles. Late last week our three eaglets found those yet unprotected poles and quickly are  becoming acclimatized to the easily approachable, open perches. The eaglets are totally unaware of the potentially deadly dangers that are associated with those poles.

As soon as we saw the problem developing we voiced our concern to DP&L as well as the our friends at the City of Dayton Water Department. The Water Department people are very protective of the eagles and are always proactive in seeing that the eagles have every opportunity to prosper. They too sent urgent messages to DP&L. I am pleased to report that the utility company was also quick to respond and has promised us that they will have crews in the well field on Monday, July 9th, to install additional devices. In light of the recent storm damage and the current record-breaking heat wave, I am rather surprised that they are responding so rapidly.

There are five poles that the eaglets seem to use the most. They are along a road that runs parallel to their favorite fishing lake and therefore provide a clear view of the water. Their parents frequently perch in the trees nearby where they can view two separate lakes, one to the north and one to the south. The adults have never been observed using the utility poles for perches. I am hoping that the crews will install devices on these five poles first before moving elsewhere. Hopefully their swift action will break a bad practice before it becomes a bad habit.

Published in: on July 8, 2012 at 3:51 am  Leave a Comment  

A Sad Anniversary

How sadly ironic it is that I heard the news today of one of the Decorah, Iowa 2012 eaglets being found lifeless at the base of a power pole. It had been electrocuted. Our thoughts are with all of those following that Bald Eagle family. All of the Eastwood Eagle Watchers group know how attached you can become to these amazing creatures and we know all too well how upsetting a terrible event like this can be.

It was one year ago today that the Dayton eaglet dubbed “Spirit” had a disastrous encounter with a wooden utility pole. For several hours on Independence Day, 2011, its sibling, Pride, was observed perched atop that very pole but the young Spirit had not been seen. When the injured eaglet was found late that afternoon, our group stood guard over the 90 day old bird as we waited for the local Raptor Center to arrive. There are coyotes and foxes in the area and the exhausted and dehydrated eaglet was in no condition to defend itself. Spirit was eventually taken to a veterinarian in Akron some 10 days later where it was discovered during surgery that the impact of striking the pole, or possibly the ground, had severely crushed the young male eaglet’s right ribcage. The damage was irreparable. Spirit was only 100 days old when he was euthanized.

As I think about both lost eaglets this evening, I realize anew how wildly uncertain life in the wild can be. These young birds of prey have so much yet to learn and so many skills to master. One mistake can prove fatal. We have succeeded in having devices installed on many of the utility poles within our eagles domain to discourage the eaglets from landing on them and those devices seem to be working. We have had only a single report of one of our trio of 2012 eaglets perching atop a pole. Although the threat of clipping a wire with a wing and the possibility of electrocution still exists, making the poles less attractive has diminished those threats somewhat. But there are dozens of other threats out there and life is so fragile. The odds of a juvenile Bald Eagle surviving its first year are improving but so many still do not reach their first birthday. All of this serves to make me realize one additional fact. It is truly a precious and rare privilege to be able to experience the thrill of seeing a wild Bald Eagle.

Published in: on July 4, 2012 at 3:25 am  Comments (1)  

2,000 Words

If a picture paints a thousand words then here are two thousand. The pictures above tell two stories, one disheartening, the other encouraging.

The obvious disheartening story is told by what is different in the two pictures. Look at how much of the eagle’s nest is now gone with the wind. Friday’s monstrous gusts removed the top half of the nest drastically reducing both its diameter and depth. The large bowl is now a small saucer.

The encouraging story is told by what is the same in the pictures, the eaglet! At about 7:30 tonight, all three eaglets flew back to the nest waiting to be fed. Two opted to land beside each other in a nearby tree, but the youngest (judging by its relative inexperience in the practice of the art of landing) plopped into the nest. Jim and Cindy had been perched in trees near the nest for much of the evening. All of this activity served to reassure us that, at least for now, the small nest is still home.

Published in: on July 3, 2012 at 4:06 am  Comments (2)  

The Aftermath Of One Wild Night!

As I had stated in my last posting, after the wicked winds of yesterday’s severe thunderstorms blasted through the area, we were expecting the worst as we made an impromptu late evening visit to the well field. The rapidly failing daylight allowed for only a quick assessment of the damages, but they appeared to be major. We decided to try it again at 6:30 this morning.

We arrived at the nesting site with the early morning sun still struggling to fight its way through the overcast skies. The heavily filtered light revealed the devastation around us. Many large trees had been snapped off about 10 feet above the ground and now looked like slumbering giants in the haze. Others were completely uprooted. One had toppled across some utility lines and was resting squarely on the top of a crushed electrical cabinet. Limbs littered the ground in every direction. The usually clamorous Great Blue Heron Rookery was eerily silent. The large population of noisy Canada Geese were quietly standing in the distance and the Whitetail Deer were nowhere to be seen. The lone bit of active wildlife was a mother Wood Duck and her twelve ducklings skating through a debris-laden pond. I sensed an ominous chill in the air.

As we reached the area of the Bald Eagle nest the first sight that caught my eye was the tops of several sycamore trees strewn into the lagoon just south of the nesting tree, half-submerged but looking like well-gnarled fingers scratching the banks above the water’s surface. Fresh, green leaves were gathered in large floating islands in the neighboring lagoons. As we inspected the damaged sycamores we were encouraged to find the nesting tree still intact, but the trunk of the large sycamore immediately east of the nesting tree was completely severed about 30 feet above the ground and only a jagged, pointed, hollow stump remained. The two sycamore trees just a bit farther east had suffered a similar fate as the storm whipped through the area. Then we saw the aerie itself, or at least what was left of it. Yesterday it had been eight feet wide and five or six feet deep, now it was little more than a heron nest, maybe four feet wide and only a foot or two deep. The violent winds had apparently torn the top wall of the nest off of its foundation and the scattered the remains across the well field as there was no massive pile of sticks to be seen. But what had happened to the eagles?

Our group of five carefully searched the tree limbs for any sign of the five missing birds. We slowly walked the grounds inspecting the tall grass as we passed. Our binoculars systematically scanned the leafy canopy paying special attention to the eagle’s favorite perches that we have become so accustomed to watching. The trees along the Mad River where Jim so often sits and hunts, the large tree that served as Cindy’s favorite guard station and the distant trees across the lagoon where the eagles often seek shady relief from the summer’s heat were all empty of wildlife. This was very unusual for by now it was well pass 7 AM and we knew that the eagles routinely enjoy their breakfast at that hour. As Roger and I began to search the grass along the lagoon behind the nesting tree and the water’s surface for any sign of an injured or dead eagle, we were relieved to spot one lone eaglet sitting high in yet another sycamore tree. He had been watching us as we were searching and now we were watching each other, a mere 70 feet apart. It appeared to be uninjured and during the twenty minutes or so that we studied it and the depths of the nearby trees, it looked rather shell-shocked and fatigued.

I wondered at all that this young one must have experienced during the previous afternoon. The sun-drenched skies had suddenly grown dark and threatening.  The still, stale air had instantly exploded into an 80 mile-per-hour gale. The rushing winds were thick with dust, stick, leaves and other projectiles. The hot, muggy weather had gone from 97 degrees to 67 degrees as the storm brought havoc to its world. Its hot, dry feathers were at once waterlogged. And what about the terrible sounds? The deep rumble of the thunder, the crackling of the lightning and the deafening snapping of the massive trees just feet away. How did it stand its ground against the storm’s fury? Talons are strong, but are of no use when the limb or the tree on which you rely for shelter proves unworthy of your faith. Did it know to position a tree trunk between itself and the approaching assault? An eaglet caught up into the air in such a storm is only so much more debris. How had it survived at all?

Shortly after the sun finally began to emerge from the overcast skies, the eaglet flew. We watched as it disappeared into a distant clump of trees. Then, as we turned we saw the unmistakable silhouette of an approaching adult Bald Eagle! It was Jim! He came flying in from somewhere beyond the Mad River and headed toward the eaglet. As he passed overhead we could see that he was not alone for in his talons he carried a rather plump duck. It was indeed breakfast time after all. He disappeared into the same distant clump of trees as the eaglet. Then we noticed yet another eaglet approaching along the same path that Jim had taken. It too passed low overhead and went towards that same clump of trees, but rather than following Jim and its sibling into the trees it attempted to land on a dry, dead limb. That limb cracked beneath the eaglet’s weight and fell to the ground as the surprised eaglet stuttered, then found its wings again and flew to the south. That is when the third eaglet flew into what was left of the nest. As it landed, Jim emerged from the trees and flew back towards the river and the eaglet in the nest soon followed. The eaglet that was forced to abort its landing circled back to the nest but missed its target again and crashed into the small branches just to the south of the nest. It settled awkwardly into the leafy seat as if that was its intent all along. We decided that this must be the youngster that had only fledged three days earlier as it did not display the skill nor the experience of its siblings. As it was trying to get comfortable in its un-eagle-like perch, Cindy arrived at the nest!

That accounted for all five of the eagles! All appeared healthy and were flying well! And not only that, they are still using the “micro-nest” as home. The 2012 nesting season is all but over and soon the eagles will retreat to the seclusion and safety of the east end of the well field. There the eaglets will master their flying skills (and more importantly, their landing skills). Then the fishing and hunting training will take place on the various lakes nearby. I fully expect that late this fall Jim and Cindy will again begin rebuilding the nest and now there is sure to be an ample supply of sticks available for their construction project.

Published in: on July 1, 2012 at 3:37 am  Comments (6)