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.
Archive for the ‘Nature and Birding’ Category
Mtn Island eaglet alive and well!
Posted in Bald Eagles, Kayaking, Mountain Island Lake, Nature and Birding on April 2, 2010| 2 Comments »
Charlotte Observer re Prothonotary Warbler and Francis Beidler Forest
Posted in Mountain Island Lake, Mtn Island Lake Wildlife Stewards, Nature and Birding on February 28, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Talk of coincidences – we’re in the middle of all this warbler nest box stuff and an Observer article appears today with a picture (newsprint version) of the warbler. The National Audubon Society owns nearly 16,000 acres of swamp and lowland forest about 70 miles southeast of Columbia, SC. The Observer article discusses the 1.75 mile boardwalk trail and how the prothonotary warbler is on the watch list for habitat loss.
This is exactly what we’re trying to alleviate with our nest box project on Mountain Island Lake, NC. I’ll be posting the design features and our assembly process later. The project will be documented by the Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation department with film and pictures. At the end of the nesting season they will be providing a complete report on its success and the validity of our new design.
Charlotte Pipe and Foundry graciously processed our donation request within 24 hours and we will be picking up the supplies we need tomorrow. I understand how many requests there must be in times like these, so it was heartwarming to see them push this to the top of their list because of our timing urgency. This is just one more example of their philanthropy in the Charlotte region.
Prothonotary Warblers nest boxes – need some help please.
Posted in Mountain Island Lake, Mtn Island Lake Wildlife Stewards, Nature and Birding, Wildlife Conservation on February 23, 2010| 2 Comments »
The Mountain Island Lake Wildlife Stewards, a chapter of the NC Wildlife Federation, has taken on a project in conjunction with the Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation department – build forty nest boxes for the Prothonotary Warbler in the nature preserves around the lake. It’s significant that these birds only nest in a water environment like those preserves have.
As we began shopping for supplies it became apparent that this was going to be financially significant for our young budget. The Meck naturalist optimistically thought we would be able to have the materials donated. Then the member who accepted that challenge, had to step up to some intense situations at work. (more…)
CRC Eagle tracking project – amazing results.
Posted in Bald Eagles, Mountain Island Lake, Nature and Birding on February 22, 2010| Leave a Comment »
The two eagles, Len and Lola, that were born in captivity and released to the wild in June 2006 were fitted with satellite tracking. The results are truly amazing! Take a second and check out this map. I think it’s interesting that they would start from the same spot, but end up traveling in completely different sections of the country.
This is the home page of the UNCCharlotte eagle project.
Update Mountain Island Lake eagle nest
Posted in Bald Eagles, Kayaking, Mountain Island Lake, Nature and Birding on February 22, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Not much – most importantly, she’s still on the nest.
Pam and I had a beautiful day for paddling ten miles total. Pair of broadwing hawks doing mating maneuvers was cool to watch. Bit later, we had the chance to watch three turkeys fly across the river just in front of us. Like several birds, they have interesting flight characteristics that you’ll recognize quickly after you’ve seen them once. They beat their wings very rapidly – coast for a moment without dropping – do the same wing-beat thing again, and then land running (well, that time anyway).
Pam was about ten feet from the shore of an island when two beavers came out of a hole and dove underwater. She really enjoyed that! Face it, actually seeing critters in the wild, instead of on TV or in captivity, adds a different dimension to our appreciation of wildlife.
That’s why it can be so worthwhile and satisfying when we share nature stuff with kids.
Bald Eagle has one chick surviving
Posted in Bald Eagles, Mountain Island Lake, Nature and Birding on February 15, 2010| 1 Comment »
The Carolina Raptor Center eagle aviary has a new member! This past Friday during several inches of snow falling, the eagle Savannah hatched one of her three eggs. The third egg has been discarded, but there’s still hope for the second.
The nest is hidden from humans behind panels. Great care is taken so that the eaglet will not be habituated to humans. The goal is to release any of the captivity hatched birds to the wild.
Savannah arrived at CRC in 1998. Her first eggs were in 2004 and the first successful hatch was finally in March 2006 which were the first bald eaglets ever hatched in captivity in North Carolina. That male and female were raised and released in the wild. (more…)
Bald Eagle nest at Carolina Raptor Center
Posted in Bald Eagles, Mountain Island Lake, Nature and Birding on February 11, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Check the link in the sidebar blog roll. The eagle aviary has a pair of nesting eagles and a nest camera refreshing every five seconds. The aviary has eagles that couldn’t be rehabilitated.
BTW, in the previous post the picture of the eagle’s head above the nest was after a lot of cropping – otherwise you would be needing a magnifying glass and instructions.:) Social Security doesn’t provide for those big telephoto lens:-)
Mountain Island Lake Bald Eagle nest confirmation
Posted in Bald Eagles, Kayaking, Mountain Island Lake, Nature and Birding on February 6, 2010| 1 Comment »
Only its white head and barely
CONFIRMATION: I’m not an ornithologist confirming a nest. And I’m not a blacksmith, but I can tell when a horseshoe is hot. I met some skepticism about an active nest and there were looks from some folks that I interpreted, self-consciously, as questioning my birding ability. So, I took advantage of the only good weather day for the near future. This past Wednesday 2/3/10 at 2:01pm I rounded the river bend and this is what I saw – a white head barely above the nest. At 2:05pm, while I was paddling against a 3 mph current, it rose up and flared its wings at a soaring Red-tail hawk it felt was too close. (more…)
Pileated Woodpecker nest? 30′ from the bedroom?!
Posted in General, Nature and Birding on February 5, 2010| Leave a Comment »
just outside MBR porch
I seem to be on a roll when it comes to unusual wildlife sightings, lately:)
We’re blessed with a 6’x10′ living room window that has a second story perspective of the woods behind our home. There’s still another 20′ of glass across the back of the area – all of which can be seen from the couch as you watch TV or the fireplace.
We’re always on the lookout for pileateds since they’re so uncommon. Last Tuesday we saw a male on a tree just outside our MBR, that is also at the rear of the house. He’s been working that tree frequently since.
Mountain Island Lake wildlife and its Bald Eagles
Posted in Bald Eagles, Kayaking, Mountain Island Lake, Nature and Birding on February 1, 2010| 4 Comments »
Mountain Island upriver track
As each kayak trip to this Catawba River section has passed, Pam and I have found this area to be rich in wildlife and peaceful paddling. The closest access for us in Lincoln county is a rough entry off nearby Killian Road across river from Duck Cove in Cowans Ford WR. The FWD F350 has to be used or else the car and trailer parked back at the roadside. Other accesses are Neck Road and Latta Plantation in Mecklenburg county or Riverbend at the Hwy 16 bridge.
We’ve even spotted bald eagles though we’re only a few miles from downtown Charlotte. Last week the epitome, I guess, of bald eagle (more…)
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