Thursday afternoon, as we rounded the bend of the river, one of the eagles and an osprey were doing flight maneuvers as the osprey appeared to be attacking the eagle. The other eagle was on the nest with the eaglet. As the soaring eagle approached the nest the osprey disengaged and headed upriver.
This picture gives an idea of the spacing between the two nests with the eagles being the closest on the left. What we were watching seems to explain the comment made by a ranger at the Killian Farm hike recently – that ospreys had run off the eagles from a nest. Actually, they were chasing eagles from their nest. I’d say the ranger was unaware there are really two nests.
Our camera simply hasn’t the zoom necessary for good detail without cropping. But this picture shows an eagle on the nest and one to the right, standing centered on the tower. We were able to see the chick some, but never in great detail. At one point, it stood and spread its wings, appearing well developed.
Most importantly, we were able to confirm the wild eagle hatch was successful.
Meanwhile, the eaglet, Noah, at the Carolina Raptor Center has been moved to a hacking tower preparatory for its release to the wild. So, that hatch has been successful, also.
The osprey nest downriver closer to Killian Road access is now occupied, as well. That’s another power tower nest on the east side and above Duck Cove.
The water in the Killian Road access was WAY down. At 5pm the river was calm and the 6.5 mile round trip was beautiful. As we neared the eagles the current picked up noticeably, probably over 2 mph. Later when we returned, all you see was covered in water.
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While watching the eagles we were able to listen to barred owls and turkeys. Just another day in paradise:)
Hey Tom,
Went Kayaking last weekend in the Upper Salt River here in AZ. It was awesome! Had a blast. Hope you are doing well!
Miss ya
Chris
Fun! I just learned that typically only half the eaglets that hatch survive the first year.