Eagle Watching

I did all of my errands Thursday morning that included picking up groceries, Charlie Food, and visiting the meat locker.

Phew. My purchases were expensive. It was a $200 day.  I noted that most gas stations were again in the process of changing their prices. This week it has floated up .10 a gallon and dropped .10 a gallon. 

It rained hard off and on all day with thunderstorms in the early morning and then again midday. The temperatures spiked with humid, muggy, and warm conditions at 68 degrees just before dark. 

I was worried about the sudden drop of temperatures to 28 overnight and how it would effect Mica our elderly grey mule who is prone to colic when there are wild temperature swings. 

However this morning, all of the equine kids are running, bucking, and farting. Fred, the eldest is pretty stoic. He is giving evil ears to anyone who bumps into him.

This is their typical winter morning routine anyway. Run, buck, and chase each other at dawn. 

All is good with the equine. The youngest mule is out chasing crows in the winter pasture. I wish I had that kind of energy at 6am!

Yesterday afternoon we had a visitor. We often get eagles flying or roosting in trees not too far way but this one was not far out the back door. The eagle carefully preened itself just before the storms hit. 

I grabbed my camera and stepped out into the yard and tried to take photos of it. It was hard to figure out what settings to use. The eagle appeared as a dark blob against a very bright grey sky.

Thankfully I have learned a few tricks over the years. I shoot RAW with my Oly -- [now called OM] -- and sometimes it can help save some of the information that the camera sees. In this case, I brightened the exposure and the shadows. 
The eagle at this point was just hanging out and preening.

Eventually the other birds noticed the eagle and a few Blue Jays decided to harass him. He was rather non-pulsed over it. I didn't catch it, but the eagle snapped at the Blue Jay when he got too close.

The Jay eventually sat in another tree and called out the eagle's presence to everyone else.

I had to move inside and shoot through the glass door when the rains came down hard.

Here, the eagle just looks ticked off at the pounding rain. When it let up, he/she just shook.

Soon the crows started to annoy the eagle. I've seen crows actually chase eagles before so I was really curious as to what would happen.

The eagle literally ignored them and they didn't actually dive bomb him at all. I figured the eagle would take off and fly away.

After hanging out for three hours, the eagle spread its wings and...

took off.

I'd waited for hours for this opportunity to 'shoot' him/her taking off. He landed in another tree close by and I was able to move to the porch and take one last shot as he left the second tree.

I was so tickled to have been able to watch this eagle from the comfort of my back door. And to observe him for hours. 

It was the highlight of the day. 

It is a Wild Wild Life

 

I posted these photos in my WildLife album last week on FB.

There is a Bobcat and a Coyote caught on camera. Earlier in June, I caught this same or similar Bobcat in a different part of our land. I see coyotes about once a month on the trail cam. Lately in pairs.

Now there is a bear that I have yet to capture on the trail cam, but he/she has left piles of scat in the creek bottom and has been seen by two neighbors. This bear raided my neighbor's berry patch in July and I saw its behind this summer while out in the wild lands. Bear ran off as soon as it heard me.

Anyway my city friends cautioned me to start being very careful!

I was amused and fielded an actual phone call from one friend telling me that I shouldn't be out in the woods with a Bobcat around or Coyotes for that matter. I assured her that 99% of the time these creatures run amok at night and avoid humans like the plague. Or should I say, avoid me like the Pandemic?

Bobcats are very secretive and it is rare to see one. They normally eat mice, rabbits, and raccoon. They will grab and kill a fawn in the spring but rarely take on large animals. Their tastes are similar to coyotes. 

When I first moved here in 1996, the land next door was over grazed by cattle. Only the deer and coyotes were around. The 'yotes had plenty to eat. The deer had a bit less as most of the underbrush was gone. Most parts of the land next door looked like a golf course with streams and trails. 

Now it is the Wilds. There has been no cattle on the land in 15 years and the forest has taken over.

This spot in my woods is very active. I've seen raccoon, skunk, and an immature eagle on this camera.

This by far is the most active place on our land. It seems to be a resting place for the deer as well as a place they like to play. I must have found the highway for the critters.

Rich says this has been very entertaining. I will keep the camera there and let it observe forest life.

I moved the newer camera that shoots in color to another section close to here. We'll see what it captures in about a week.

Meanwhile, I'll be out and about after this next storm to read tracks. That is another one of my favorite things to do in the winter months.

This by the way is in the Buckthorn Forest which really surprised me. I didn't think that any of the wild life would haunt this area. It makes sense though because the undergrowth is almost non existent because of the heavy shaded canopy. It is on a slight slop with a good view all around. I have been back there on windy days and it seems to be protected from almost all directions from heavy winds. 

It might be the perfect spot indeed!