The eagle finally did what I've been wanting it to do-let me click when it was about to grab and go with a piece of ham fat. The head kind of blends into the overcast background, but I was happy to see the feet extended with talons ready a millisecond before contact. Pure luck. He came swooping in. I reacted as fast as I could, and he was gone in a second with only two clicks a fraction of a second apart. I thought I'd missed, but checking a minute later, there it was. The second click showed him heading away with little visible.
Bald eagle pair
He is spending more time with his mate-at least here. March is when nesting begins, and I think I know where the nest is because when he and his mate fly together and disappear, it is toward the nest we visit in summer on the pontoon ride during the July-August courses. One of the stops is at the very visible, decades-old lakeside nest where we see eagles raising young in most years. Today, his mate joined him when he got another piece of ham fat and flew to a tree at the edge of the yard to eat it. The mate landed partially behind the trunk of the tree but was visible just long enough to see that both had their beaks open. I don't know if they were making any sound and what open beaks mean, but soon they flew off without either eating anything. They circled a bit together before heading off toward the nest that is in a bay just around the corner from the den where Lily gave birth to Hope.
Red fox w/egg
The nice male red fox comes regularly for his egg, ham fat, mini-muffins, and more. I like this picture of him picking up his egg because it shows his very bushy tail that he undoubtedly uses to tuck his muzzle into when it is cold.
The redpoll number has grown from one to nearly a hundred to at least 160. Here are some of them at one of the feeding areas peacefully feeding tight together as usual.
Redpoll flock
I'll be gone a couple days to get my left carotid artery cleaned out and will be back on Wednesday happy that the blockage was caught and could be fixed.
Looking forward to getting back.
Thank you for all you do,
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center