Cows and eagles

Posted on June 24, 2023 by dinajohnston

The usual critters on my bike ride on the Pinellas Trail north of Brooker Creek. Cows and cattle egrets. The calves were getting big by early April.

I passed the eagle’s nest that sits far away in the cow pasture. The 2 young ones were flapping away and close to flying.

I could see a gopher tortoise walking around right under the eagle’s nest. He must have a burrow nearby.

As I was pedaling back to my car I heard an eagle yelling overhead. She was sitting on a utility tower and making a lot of noise. I stopped and pulled my camera out of my backpack.

I saw another eagle flying overhead. He landed on the same utility tower. After a few seconds of yelling back and forth, the below happened.

They started mating while a crow bothered them. At this point there was a small crowd watching from below. It’s not often you see eagles mating out in the wild (although this was my 2nd time this month with the first being in my neighborhood).

They sat together for a while on the same nest. I finally headed back to my car.

And then there was one

Posted on June 10, 2023 by dinajohnston

Do you ever feel like you’re being watched? It was the end of March and I was sitting under a big tree at the eagle’s nest in my neighborhood when I thought I saw movement in the reeds under the nest. At first I thought I was crazy but then I saw her move again and realized a deer was watching me. She stood there frozen for about 30 seconds and then moved farther into the reeds.

The kestrel couple were still hanging around and stopped on the wire above me to enjoy a snack.

A few days later I was sitting on the other side of the nest since the babies seemed more visible from this angle. I only saw one baby sitting up but the other one could be sleeping.

Both parents were sitting high up on the other tower. A man walked over to me (I was sitting close to the pool and people stop and ask me about the eagles) and said there was a baby eagle down on the ground by the other condo building. I packed up my camera and chair and ran over.

There it was, sitting under a big tree. Several people were keeping an eye on it. They had tried called several agencies but couldn’t get anyone to respond. I called Raptor Center of Tampa Bay and Louise came out pretty quicky. Louise is our nearby resident raptor rescue expert.

She had her caught in no time and was checking her out to see what her injuries were. There were no injuries that she could see. Louise was thinking she was flapping her wings a little too hard and got some air and ended up landing down near the condos and couldn’t get back up to that nest in the tower. The eagle didn’t fight her at all but just watched Louise.

I helped hold the eagle while Louise put the hood on her (it keeps her calm and quiet) and put her into the crate. Off she went, to the raptor center to be checked out. Since the nest is in a Duke energy tower the eagle could not be placed back up there. Duke would have to cut the power to half of Oldsmar for a while to get her back up and they won’t do that. She spent a few weeks at the center until she was fully flighted and then released in central Florida.

And then there was one. I was glad I was there when the other baby got rescued because otherwise I would be going crazy wondering what happened to it. Now the younger baby will get the full attention from the parents. Louise said that 2 years ago both babies fell off the nest so I hope this last one stays put.

The next morning the monk parakeets were back on bottle brush tree.

A soft shell turtle was at the pond across the street from the nest. It looked like she was laying eggs.

A busy morning at the nest

Posted on May 29, 2023 by dinajohnston

It was the end of March and the late baby eagles in my neighborhood were still not flying yet.

I heard Mom screaming and realized that another juvenile (from the nest at the other end of the neighborhood) was cruising over the nest and trying to land. Mom chased off the intruder and landed back on the nest tower. The nest far over on the other end of the neighborhood was several weeks ahead of this nest. Those babies were already flying and this one came looking for an extra meal.

After the intruder left Mom sat there and screamed for a while. I guess she was calling for her mate. The mate flew in and they both sat there for a few minutes. They were on the other end of the tower and it’s was tough to see both of them together.

All of a sudden they started mating. I’ve read that they stress mate even while they still have babies.

After the eagles calmed down I started looking around and saw this woodpecker with a snack on the fence.

A great crested flycatcher and a palm warbler landed in the trees I was sitting under.

I heard some screaming and realized some monk parakeets had flown into the bottle brush trees next to the fence. They were eating the seed off the brushes.

Across the field a squirrel was eating what looked like a big mushroom.

Fun things at the eagle’s nest

Posted on May 6, 2023 by dinajohnston

It was mid-March and I was sitting in my chair along the fence line at the eagle’s nest. I was waiting for the baby eagles to wake up and I look over the small wooden fence and see some deer feeding right in front of me. I stood up to take some pictures and they stopped to check me out but then kept eating and working their way down the utility field.

One of the parents dropped off a tiny fish for breakfast and after eating the oldest baby did some practice flaps.

A few days later and the oldest was still flapping his wings while Mom watched.

On this particular morning I heard a loud scream and got out of my chair and turned around just as a pileated woodpecker flew in the tree next to me. She was pretty close and ignored me.

A red bellied woodpecker flew onto the utility pole next to the tree and started banging. He must have caught the attention of the pileated woodpecker. She flew over and chased him off the pole. I guess size wins in this game. It’s amazing the critters I see at the eagle’s nest.

Hoping for babies

Posted on March 6, 2023 by dinajohnston

At the end of January I was still checking on the eagle nest in the neighborhood but still had not seen any sign of a baby with the exception of both adults on the nest most of the time. They are late compared to last year and all of the other nests around the area. I saw one of the parents bringing in food so I’m thinking the baby was still too small to see from here.

I had seen one kestrel a few days earlier but on another visit there were two sitting on the bat box. Looks like a couple. Last winter I only saw one and it was a female.

A few days later I caught him in the middle of eating a bug and then she flew in. He finished his bug and then they both took off.

A dove was watching from the tree behind me.

White ibis flying across the utility field before dark.

The sun was just starting to go down at the eagle’s nest.

All In the “eagle” Family

Posted on April 14, 2022 by dinajohnston

I stopped by the eagles nest in my neighborhood just after mid-February. The 2 babies were flapping their wings pretty hard. At this point the parents were just dropping off food and the babies were eating on their own. One of the parents had been sitting just above the nest and took off.

A few days later I came back and one of the parents was sitting near the nest and started yelling.

I then saw the other parent flying by but didin’t stop. I’m thinking this was the male. The female went after him, screaming along the way. Where was he going and where was breakfast (I’m assuming that’s what she was yelling)?

I saw them both land several towers down the field (that’s an osprey nest on the bottom left). They both sat up there for a while before taking off again.

The kids were like “Where are they going and where is our breakfast?” I waited about 45 minutes after that but still didn’t see the parents come back. One of them probably came back around lunchtime with a snack. At this point the babies still weren’t flying at all but flapping pretty hard.

More to come on the eagle family. I guess I should name them all at this point. Any suggestions?

SkyWatch Friday

Lots of the same at Chesnut Park

Posted on February 12, 2018 by dinajohnston

Lots of deer in early January.

Lots of squirrels but that bottom looks a little rough.

Lots of little birds but nothing new.

Red shoulder hawks hiding along the trails.

Eagles flying far away across the lake. Both an adult and a juvenile.

Found these two ducks at a quiet end of a pond. I’m thinking they are pets that got dumped here. Someone left food in a small plastic container. I just hope they know enough to stay away from the gators.

Our World Tuesday Graphic image-in-ing: weekly photo linkup

Big birds up high

Posted on January 19, 2017 by dinajohnston

Very young bald eagle soaring up high.

An adult eagle coming right over my head.

Across the marsh, I saw another eagle bringing a big branch back to the nest.

A great egret going by with a snack.

There’s always a lot of great blue herons flying around on Alligator Alley.

There’s been a great blue heron sitting on the nest for several weeks now. This must be the male taking his turn. Look at that grumpy face.

An osprey having a snack on the trail.

Typical Florida shots.

I started going back to Circle B Bar Reserve in early November for the winter. It’s too hot to walk the trails in the summer. There’s been lots of activity going on along the Alligator Alley trail this fall. It’s been so nice to get out for long walks again since the weather has cooled off. The reserve is fairly quiet and hasn’t been too busy so far.

SkyWatch Friday

All grown up.

Posted on March 26, 2015 by dinajohnston

It’s rare to see both parents sitting together on this nest.

The big baby was showing off his wings. The smaller baby stayed hidden behind the big trunk.

I guess he was practicing his pose.

At one point one of the parents moved over to the nest.

Then back over next to his mate.

I took a walk around the area and of course something happened.

From across the pond I could see a juvenile eagle trying to invade the nest. The parents were screaming at him and chased him away.

It could have been last year’s baby coming back for a visit but the parents didn’t want any part of it.

Things started to settle down so I headed home for lunch.

These were taken in early March.By now the babies are probably flying around and getting ready to leave. We had another great year with this nest. I’m sure the proud parents are ready to head back up north for the summer.

Skywatch Friday

Baby eagles all grown up

Posted on April 17, 2013 by dinajohnston

A normal sight, the parent watching over the kids.

A view of both baby eagles on the nest.

The oldest perched on a big branch. Already looking regal.

Practicing his takeoff.

We have lift off!

He didn’t fly around the afternoon I stopped by in mid-march. He was flapping pretty hard but never officially took off while I was there. By now he’s probably flying pretty high. This was my last stop of the year. I’ll leave them to their soaring and check back next year. It’s great to see both are doing well. Maybe I’ll see them flying over a busy road soon.

Dina's Wildlife Adventures

Tag Archives: bald eagles