With the sun just barely peeking over the horizon, this gorgeous eagle was returning to its roost with a very small breakfast. If you look close, you can see the tiny fish it had snagged.

This image was taken back in the middle of February when a couple dozen of our national emblem was hanging out at a series of ponds along the South Platte River north of Denver, Colorado. They were only there for a few days but it was absolutely awesome to get to spend time with them.

I’m not one to get all crazy with the Earth Day stuff but I do believe we need to be good stewards of the land and the creatures we share the planet with.

It was humans that nearly drove this magnificant creature into extinction and that serves to highlight how irresponsible action on our part can have wide-ranging effects. Conversely, when we realized what we were doing, we changed course and now bald eagles are thriving and a prime example of success in conservation.

We owe it to them and our children to be responsible guardians of this planet.

This past weekend I was surprised at the number of eagles I found on northeast of Denver. By now, they are usually getting pretty scarce as they head north for the summer but this year they seem to be lingering. I happened across this pair of young ones as they just couldn’t seem to get along. This sequence played out multiple times as 

Mom’s know just what their kids need and fish was on the menu for them on this morning. That sounds much better than the prairie dog or rabbit alternatives for sure. 😀 

Following a ‘changing of the guard’, this female bald eagle must have needed a bit of alone time as she disappeared for an hour and a half this past weekend. Dad did a good job keeping watch while she was gone and when mom did return, she brought food for the family.

Well look at this! I spent my morning at my favorite bald eagle nest and while I got some nice shots of dad and mom, I hadn’t seen any little ones.

Every now and then I thought I saw movement in the nest but no confirmation. After three hours I was getting ready to pack up and head out when suddenly, this little bobblehead appeared! So darned cute! It only stayed up for a minute or two but I was glad to have the confirmation of a little one.

I do suspect there might be another because, as you can tell, while this one was looking up, mom appeared to be tending to something in the back of the nest. I’ll be anxious to watch this eaglet grow in the coming months. 

A visit this past weekend to a bald eagle nest I keep close watch on. All looked good and while I cannot be sure, I do suspect there might be eaglets in there.

Three times over the five hours I was there, mama got up, stood on the rim of her nest, and would dunk her head into the nest bowl as if she was feeding something. Another week or two I am hoping to see some little bobbleheads popping up.

Before this picture was taken, dad was hanging out on the opposite side of the river as he oftentimes does. He returned with a load of grass for the nest and after checking on his family, headed off again. He gave me an absolutely fantastic launch series.

This darn bald eagle photobombed my picture of a Swift Air plane taking off at Denver International Airport. 😀

 

It is with great sadness that I learned this morning that the female bald eagle at a nest I have watched for the past few years was a casualty of the Denver area’s blizzard last week.

I am working to learn more but it appears she was injured somehow during the storm, found on the ground, and passed away en route to a rehab facility.

I have taken thousands of pictures of this beautiful pair and in fact, an image of them – this one taken in February 2017 – is on the wall in my family room at home. They gave me many hours of enjoyment as I stood watching and marveling at them.

I know that life and death are part of nature and these kinds of things happen. Nevertheless, the tears are flowing this morning at this loss. Her mate is now left alone and the eggs they were taking care of will certainly fail. I am heartbroken.  ;'(

Update 3/19/19, 2:05pm: Colorado Parks and Wildlife has determined it was the male of the nested pair that passed away. Sadly, the outcome for the nest is likely going to be the same. 

Our cold, snowy weather of recent weeks here in the Denver, Colorado area looks to continue into March. Yesterday another storm system was setting its sights on us and while I didn’t care for it, the eagles didn’t mind too much.

This particular one was perched in a tree over the lake at Barr Lake State Park, keeping watch on a patch of open water. After a while, it opted to relocate and I was able to grab some nice pics as it launched and flew right by me.

Well, that little guy wasn’t more than a mouthful for this big raptor. After skillfully snagging the fish from the waters of a local pond, he was able to devour it in a few quick bites. Honestly, seems like the eagle probably burned more calories catching the fish than it gained by eating it. 😉

Fish are of course the bald eagle’s preferred meal but here in Colorado, there isn’t all that much water and during winter, much of it is frozen over. As a result, we are more likely to see them dining on prairie dogs and rabbits. When the water thaws though as it has in recent weeks, that is when the eagles can get back to their usual fare.