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4/3/21 Eagle watching

2K views 14 replies 9 participants last post by  Rambler 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
The Eagle nest has looked a little bigger from Gulf rd or 90 as I pass by. Been 3 years since I last took the hike back to it. Eagles will add to it every year, and wanted to see how their doing. Turned out to be a good day for Eagle watching.

Got back to the nest around 1:15, nest is at least a foot taller and wider at the top.
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One Eagle sitting on the nest with just the head above the rim. Watching me. Thought that was gonna be it, just some grainy head and nest shots. Then from the north side the other Eagle flew in with a fish clutched in its talons landed on the top of the nest. Must not have dropped it cause a couple minutes later a third smaller head popped up a few times. There's at least one eaglet in the nest.
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The adult in the nest started moving around then climbed up on top. The parents must have had a conversation cause the one that had been sittin flew off and landed in the trees north of the nest, and the successful fisherman settled down into the nest with just the head visible.
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I pestered them enough and headed out to meet Jason for some Kayaking.
 

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#5 ·
badger75 said:
Some of our younger folks will not remember the near wipe out they took - I believe it was in 1960's. Rambler - please fill em in....
Badger - thanks for your vote of confidence that I'd know about this. And since you asked...

Can't be exactly sure of when eagle populations hit their low ebb but their decline began in the 1940s when farmers began unrestricted use of the pesticide DDT. It of course got into the waters, from there into the fish and then into eagles. The disastrous side effect of DDT was that it caused female eagles to lay eggs with shells too thin to bear the weight of nesting eagles. Consequently fewer baby eagles were hatched and the population (in the contiguous 48) dropped precipitously.

The situation became apparent in the 70s and the EPA (created by the Nixon administration back before Republicans decided science is hogwash) put eagles on the protected species list and banned the use of DDT. Once DDT began washing out of the environment eagles began their amazing comeback.

When I was a lad back in the 50s I had the fantastic experience of seeing a pair of bald eagles soaring over the tree tops in the back woods of the Manistee Nat Forest. I remember walking around the trunk of the tree that held their nest looking at the remains of their prey. Lots of fish bones, turtle shells (some were surprisingly large) and the bones of all sorts of animals. Quite a scene.

Years later in the 70s I had the pleasure of seeing 3 mature eagles flying down Westwater Canyon on the Colorado in Utah. At that time eagles were really rare so seeing 3 was truly a banner day.

If you told me back then that a time would come when seeing an eagle would not be uncommon (my wife & I saw one flying along Salt Creek last week) I would have thought you were smoking something that has also had a strange and amazing comeback.
 
#7 ·
Busse'e Eagles have been there since at least 2012 when i caught one ice fishing at cwb, when he flew off the mate flew out of the tree's to join it A traffic helicoptor spotted an immature and adult in 2015 at the nest.
I saw the nest in 2017 with a fledgling hopping around the top. In 2018 they moved across the marsh to the current nest. got to be the tenth year they had young.
they still got some years left. I'd be cool to see a nest in the south end of Busse too, seems like enough space for another pair. Haven't seen the Osprey's last two years, :think: too close to eagles nest

Funny, saw a pair of canadian geese sitting on the old nest this year, don't think they know what's in-store for them if they stay.
 
#11 ·
Rambler said:
Eagles don't like competition & can't tolerate Ospreys.
Then i guess it was stupid to put up a pole with a platform on top for an osprey nest 1/2 mile away from an eagle nest.
Saw them fight a few years back and just knew that the osprey's days were numbered. The eagles probably raided the nest every year.

And yes, i know the osprey was there first
 
#13 ·
Busse Jim said:
Busse'e Eagles have been there since at least 2012 when i caught one ice fishing at cwb,
Wow! The patriotic catch of a lifetime. I had a muskrat come through my ice hole once, but I'd freak if I pulled out a screamin' bald eagle. I'm not aware of any size limit regs, but I'm glad you C&Rd it. :thumbup: :clap:
 
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