My first visit of the year to this beautiful couple’s home in northeastern Colorado. Now is the time of year when mated bald eagles will start hanging out at home more. Home repairs take on a priority and they will begin mating and will be laying eggs in the coming weeks.
Knowing that, I hiked in to check on my favorite pair of bald eagles and as usual, they were quite entertaining. Initially, mom was the only one around and she was quite content to sit on the rim of the nest, blocked by branches of course. Sigh.
After a while, dad arrived, checked on her, then departed to chase off a juvenile eagle that he felt was too close. He returned though, this time with a stick to aid in nestorations of the home. After meticulously placing it, he departed again. The female decided it was time to stretch her wings and took a short flight 50 yards away to one of their favorite perches where she hung out and preened.
These are images of the male bringing the stick and the female as she departed, all with the backdrop of those gorgeous blue Colorado skies. In the years I have been watching this pair, they have been quite successful most years in successfully fledging an eaglet. Fingers crossed that luck continues in 2022!
