Snow and Eagles

Well, compared to winters in the past this one is shaping up just fine, snow...snow...snow and MORE snow!

Nice for the kids, as they have had sledless winters the last few years. Last nights snow was dry (due to it being as cold as can be) the snow was drifting and blowing and it almost looked like Alaska for awhile. We got a decent 3 or 4 inches before th e sun began to sort of shine through the clouds. Anyway, for my part of t he state this is a nice snow.


The other day going round the lake I got the closest I have been yet to the Eagles, this one was just sitting in the trees right off the roadway, about 20 feet away from the car. As we backed back up to take the photo he turned and looked right at me, eye to eye as if to say don't come any closer! By the time I got my camera out and on he had turned back to the lake as if to dismiss me entirely. I was able to get two shots before I annoyed him and he flew off over the lake.

He is very handsome, regal as if they know they are the King. I hope that babies are a result of this couple this year, I have not located the nest yet but the woods around here are extensive so it could literally be anywhere for miles.

Here is a map to show where the Eagles are hanging out ~

View Larger Map

If you do come to visit, please remember these birds are special and rare and respect their privacy. I do not want them to be scared off.

Eagles: Companions for Life

As I get to watch the Eagle's at the lake near my home I become more interested in their behaviors. I post a photo the other day of two of the three standing on the ice. They stayed there for hours with the larger ( female?) of the three flying off when ever some one drove too near. ( The road goes all around our tiny lake so we are not very far from the center of the end of the lake where our boat dock is )

Someone asked me what the Eagles might be doing just standing there and I believe in my uneducated opinion that due to their fishing habits I have seen at the lake earlier that they were in face waiting for fish to pop up near the surface of the ice where small circles of unfrozen water was.

I wondered if my theory was correct and went in search of more information on these awesome birds.The most know fact I think concerning Eagles is the fact that they mate for life, unless a mate is lost to a death. The funny thing to me about that is, I do not know anyone who has mated for life except my parents and a few of my Aunts and Uncles.

And today when I was at my Uncles Dick' Blog ( Dick Summer Connection) his post had much to do with mating for life. He truly loves and adores my Aunt and I know the feeling is mutual for LWW ( Lady Wonder Wench as she is called by her adoring hubby the Pilot)

Can we as a species say that a million years from now we will be monogamous as the eagles are? I would lay money on the fact that no matter how the eagle evolved the one thing that will never change is that they mate for life.

This I believe is the best thing we can attain to, for that coupling is where our strength comes from just as it does for the American Bald Eagle.

To read more on the American Bald Eagle please refer to this website - American Bald Eagle Info and if you want a great daily read that will make you laugh and think check out Dick Summer Connection, especially if y ou are of the Louie-Louie Generation!

My Issues with our National Symbol ~ The Bald Eagle

I live about a 1/4 mile from the Lake in my county, it is not a large lake nor a small one. There is nothing spectacular about my lake, but it is nice to be near and pretty enough. However nondescript my lake may be, it does have one thing that most lakes do not have, a nesting pair of American Bald Eagles along with their offspring born two years ago.

Now, this family of raptor's and I are in a bit of a disagreement, we disagree about whether or not they will be photographed by me. So far in the last few days I have had four or five shots at getting the family on film ( digital camera) and each time I have had them in my sights my focus was not strong enough to catch them clearly.

Case in point the following photo ~
See that itty bitty bird in the center of the sky? Yep, that is my tricky Bald Eagle. Now two seconds before this shot was taken he was right in my face, he (she?) had just dove into the lake for some fish and his (her) wings were folded so beautifully, it was a shot Ansel Adams would have been proud of. Did I grab that shot? Oh no no no. I got this one instead.

So, these lovely bird and I are going to be meeting tomorrow morning bright and early. I will catch close ups of them if I have to freeze to death to do it! I can not get out onto the lake via boat which would be the optimum viewing, and if I could I would be a bit worried about them trying to eat me or something. If I am lucky enough to get better photographs, I will be posting them here.

I am aware of how truly fortunate my family and I are to be sharing our living space with these awesome creatures. Even better is knowing that the symbol of American Freedom flies over my house , makes me feel safe some how.

I wont be disclosing the exact location for there are some who would love to find them and I am afraid of their nesting patterns being disrupted. For more on the American Bald Eagle in Kentucky, please refer to this web page ~Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife.