Something most folks may not know but yes, Bald Eagles (and other birds) do in fact pant. They don’t sweat so panting is a way for them to dissipate heat. It wasn’t particularly hot when this image was taken but the eagle had just returned from a flight and was apparently a bit warm afterwards.
Putting on the brakes for landing
It is Freedom Friday and let’s start things off with this pic of this beautiful lady as she comes in for a landing. When I first arrived at the nest site this past Sunday, she was pretty upset.
A younger Bald Eagle had stopped by and was circling around. Bald Eagles are usually very sociable to each other – except when they have a nest and are guarding their young. They don’t play around then.
Not appreciating the visitor, she took off in hot pursuit of the interloper, chasing it down the river and out of view. It didn’t take long and she returned, landing right by her offspring and giving me a nice series of images including this one.
Have a great weekend, everyone! Take time to remember what the Memorial Day holiday is all about. Since our nation’s founding, brave men and women have given their lives in service to this great nation and we are forever indebted to them. Never forget!
An endangered species success story
It is believed that Bald Eagle populations were as high as 500,000 in the lower 48 states before the arrival of Europeans. Adopted as the United States’ national symbol in 1782, there were only about 100,000 by then.
Bald Eagle populations continued to decline in the 1800s due to loss of habitat and a corresponding loss of its prey. It was said to be at the edge of extinction in 1940 and that was followed by the introduction of DDT, a pesticide which further threatened the raptor causing its eggs to have very fragile shells.
By the early 1960s, there were a mere 487 pairs of mated eagles in the lower 48 it was declared an endangered species.
DDT was banned in 1972 and since then the Bald Eagle has made an extraordinary comeback, being removed from the endangered species list in 2007.
These are three different mated pairs of eagles that I have had the the pleasure of photographing just this year.
Juvenile Bald Eagle in pursuit of a meal
Why catch your own fish when you can steal one from another eagle? That is pretty standard operating procedure for these big raptors although it seems like they spend more energy trying to steal other eagles’ fish than they would if they just caught their own. 😉 In this image, one juvenile chases another that is trying to escape with its meal. Light was horrible so the quality isn’t what I would hope but it was fun to watch. Taken back on March 3, 2017.
Mama out for a flight
Mama out for a flight. Taken this past weekend, the female Bald Eagle at my local nest decided to stretch her wings and give me a flyby. Activity that day was really low as record-tying temperatures had arrived and the eagles understandably were choosing to sit tight and try to stay cool.
Pelicans perform a flyby
Pelicans perform a flyby. While the female Bald Eagle stands guard next to her eaglet, a couple of American White Pelicans circled overhead.
On approach
This lady is absolutely gorgeous and by all appearances a great mom. From my local nest, this is the female Bald Eagle as she returns from a quick flight stretching those massive wings. It is interesting to watch and observe the differences between the two parents. She is quite laid back, not paying much attention to anything other than her eaglet. He, one the other hand, is constantly chattering anytime a perceived threat comes nearby, keeps his distance from the nest most of the time, and just seems kind of uptight.
My how big you have gotten!
I finally got my first good look at the eaglet at my local Bald Eagle nest. “Junior” seems to be doing quite well and already is quite big. He / she stuck its head up a few times and even did some flapping of its wings. As you can tell though, while there are some feathers, it is still very much covered in down.
Judging by when I first saw mama sitting on the nest back in February, then allowing 35 days for incubation, I am guessing the little one is now about 6 weeks old. In another couple of weeks, it will start doing a lot more flapping, perhaps even lift itself into the air a bit. First flight usually occurs between 10 and 13 weeks at which time it will also be pretty much fully grown.
And S T R E T C H….
It always seems odd to see what of these big raptors do this but it is fun too. This female Bald Eagle had spent quite a bit of time just sitting and decided this was a good way to get the blood flowing. The image gives a nice look at the long wings and those talons. If you want more Bald Eagle images, head here.
Mama makes some noise
This female Bald Eagle might have just been happy about not being stuck on the nest anymore. Her little one hatched a few weeks ago and that has given her some freedom to move around after spending 35 days almost entirely sitting in the nest.
She never strays far though, keeping close watch and protecting her offspring. Here she is perched on a branch only a few feet from the nest where the eaglet is. Dad was in a tree 50 yards away and calling so she returned the favor with some vocalization of her own.
This image was taken this past Sunday and unfortunately I never did get a good view of the baby raptor. I could see its back as it moved around but that was about it. Hopefully on my next visit I will get a nice look at it.