A Deer Fawn being Delivered to the Nest

A parent bald eagle delivers a fawn to its nest where there are 3 juvenile eagles. This nest is located along the Yakima River Canyon Road …. a spectacular drive south of Ellensburg. I have followed it for several years … and this was the third consecutive year that the pair had nested there. Over the years watching and photographing the adults bring food to the nest, with exception of this delivery, all were fish.

determination

while watching for eagles at their nesting area, this one came in and was tugging and tugging on this branch, he was determined to get it, he was unable to get it.

I am home!

These majestic Bald Eagles build a nest in an urban environment – next to Curtner Elementary School in Milpitas, California. What a treat for locals following their nesting cycle!

SQUEE!

Morning Light

Big Birds Big Nest

I’m fortunate to have an active Bald Eagle nest near our property. It has been in constant use since 2010, and this year we were blessed to have three eaglets hatch and fledge. The adult eagles are quite used to my presence, and I have a very large/long lens that I used for this photo, so I wasn’t as close as it appears from the image. I also never spend more than a few minutes in any location, so the birds do not get disturbed in any way. In fact, they often seem interested in what I’m doing!

Posing for a Portrait

These are a pair of young eagles taken after they fledged from their nest upstream. This particular spot is right next to a river where they can learn how to catch fish. When I walked to the river bank, I was not expecting them to be perched directly in front of me, and was afraid that they would fly away, but they simply stared at me with my camera and sat quietly for this portrait.

Swimming predator

I was sitting on the shore watching for the birds and saw this eagle sitting on the rock. Suddenly it flew circles and dove but then couldn’t but swim back to his rock as he carried something long that I couldn’t see clearly. It took him several minutes to swim back and start poking the catch.

Food is on the way

While observing a local Bald Eagle nest with twin Eaglets, I watched this adult bring a White-Tailed Fawn to the nest.

We’re hungry!

A pair of young eagles (who haven’t yet learned to fly), wait for mom or dad to return with a nice, tasty fish.

Hello world!

A mother eagle looks on while one of her new babies peeks over the edge of the nest and into a new, larger world.

Fish for dinner again!

This eagle parent flew to a tree near the nest, waited a few minutes and then flew to the nest to feed it’s large eaglet. There appeared to be only one eaglet in the nest.

“Mom, tell me stories about soaring in the skies”

A quiet moment between mother and child, as the sibling sleeps, this Spring overlooking the eaglets new playground.

“Mom, Where are the Brakes!!!!!”

Our 14 week old eaglet “Courage” was no where to be found, but could be overheard crying somewhere in a tree near the nest. Her sibling “Honor” and mother “Claire” were waiting on the nest for her to return. Eventually, I saw a black unsteady blob soaring out of the trees and here comes “Courage” squealing like a banshee trying to figure out to use her landing gear. She squealed all the way to the nest as her mother and brother looked on in panic. Mom stepped to the side and helped “Courage” brace herself in the crash landing. It was just a big ole pile wings when the eaglet landed, but everyone came out alright.

Conflict with an Osprey

At this point back in April of this year our eaglets were several weeks old and still rather small. This Osprey was hunting off to the right of the nest. As I was watching the eaglets in the nest, I suddenly heard all this hissing. I looked over and the mother eagles, “Claire” and “Ted” were in hot pursuit of the Osprey trying to convince him to hunt elsewhere while literally zooming right over my head. The father eagle “Jamie” (we have a collaborative nesting site) stayed back at the nest and protected the eaglets. I haven’t seen that Osprey back in the area for several months now. I think he got the message the eagles were giving.

Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Cornell Lab of Ornithology