Spying on Eagles

About 15 miles from where I live I can watch a bald eagle nest.  I wish it was just a little closer to the road, but it is close enough to see when the adults are home …. and with binoculars I can see a little more, like fresh sticks added to the nest last January.  When the wind is still I can just barely hear the eagles singing.  When it is windy, just their body posture tells me when they are singing.  I’ll never tire of that music. 

 

My first 'Painted Lady Beetle' and a 'Variegated Lady Beetle'

The place where we park and see the nest happens to have good ‘bugging,’ i.e. a good place to find insects and spiders, even in late winter.  Bugging was so good returned on 14 days between Jan 25 and April 9 …. And I took notes on the eagle nest between lady bugs, playing peek-a-boo with a funnel spider, and finding a pregnant cucumber beetle. 

The eagle nest is across the river and in the tallest tree

Serious watching began on February 16:

            We’re back at the bald eagle nest.  I’ve got a rotten head cold.  Sitting in the car, soaking up winter sunshine, suits me just fine.  No sign of the eagles.  I’m keeping a careful lookout for an eagle while we eat our McDonald’s filet-of-fish sandwiches. 

            Ah Ha!  An eagle stands on the nest.  I’ve wondered if I can see an eagle up there when they are incubating.  Now I know.  It is possible for the adult to disappear into the nest.

            The eagle stands and calls.  Too far for me to hear, but I know he/she is calling.  Within a minute the second adult flies in and lands on the nest.  The two are together about a minute before one, I think not the newcomer, pops over to a limb about ten feet out.  The remaining eagle at the nest starts to settle, carefully, ever so carefully onto the nest.  I see the gentle rocking as the adult lowers itself carefully down.  There must be eggs up there!

            Now I’ve been watching and sketching for over an hour and a half.  It’s been rather busy up in the nest.  Eagle comes. Eagle goes.  Eagle stands.  Eagle settles.  If I arrived right now I’d say there are no eagles in the area, but a few minutes ago I saw one disappear into a clump of Douglas firs just up river and I don’t think the nest has been empty since we arrived.

            I sit for nearly another hour.  Mostly quiet.  No sign of any eagle and I begin to wonder if there really is an eagle up there … then it stands up.  Now I’m wondering if one eagle does most of the incubating and I got to see the second come in and take over for an hour so.  Now back to the first bird ….??? It could even be that incubation had started when we were here Feb 9.  On Jan 30 and 31, I felt incubation hadn’t started. 

Feb 19:  Hard freeze last night but it is supposed to warm to 60 degrees.  Sunny.  We are ‘bugging’ again.  My cold is better and I’m getting outside.  The bald eagles have me puzzled.  I believe at least one was at the nest until 3:50 PM, then both flew off.  I watch carefully for at least ten minutes, expecting one to return.  Maybe it is warm enough to leave eggs.  Forty minutes later I don’t think either have returned.  … but I could have missed it.  When they fly in from the back of the nest, there isn’t much opportunity for me to see the eagle arrive. 

March 9:  Incubating (every so often I see a white head up there).  March 18:  Incubating.  March 19:  Incubating

March 25:  I think the eaglets have hatched.  The adults stands, fusses, appears to be feeding something hidden in the nest.  I can’t see much.  Mostly it is tantalizing.  Incubation for bald eagles is about 35 days, so if my observations have been correct, they could have hatched. 

April 3:  A friend, Bob, photographed an adult eagle flying towards the nest with a great handful of long grasses – perhaps freshening up the nest cup – or are they still nest building and I’ve been imagining everything?

April 9:  Success!  There is no doubt about it.  I can see a little eaglet head in my photo.  From my past experience with other raptors this baby is several days old.  It takes a while before they can hold their head high like that. 

Now I’m wondering how many eaglets are there?  I look forward to seeing more. 

Smuggling and Sewing

Not my normal blog-type ... I promise you nature next time.  My sewing brought back memories of my being a smuggler.  I trust there is a statue of limitations on my crime.  

Anyone who sews knows a sewer never throws away leftover bits and pieces of fabric …. Thank heavens!  When the powers that be announced it was time for everyone to wear a mask in public, I kicked into high gear.  So much of the current situation involves our adjusting to the strange new norms, but finally I could really do something. 

Out came my pile of fabric pieces and elastic.  Fabric with a tight weave is best … two of my scraps were excellent and a few more were decent.  Way back when I was in high school I had a summer job at the local café.  A traveling salesman came in selling lovely Egyptian cotton.  I couldn’t think of a possible reason I needed a yard of Egyptian cotton and buying enough for a blouse was too expensive … even so I bought a yard.  I still had half of it --- a lovely tight weave. 

The second best fabric, a red/orange paisley left over from a dress, also has good memories.  Between my junior and senior year of college I spent a summer hitch-hiking through Europe with a girlfriend.  I had two dresses ( the red/orange one and a green seersucker), one skirt and blouse, one sweater, a raincoat, etc.  I was warned not to wear pants.  A girl hitch-hiking in a skirt was a ‘nice’ girl; a girl in pants was looking for extra excitement.  We wore our skirts, accepted 99 rides, and never had a problem.

Well, I did have a bit of a problem once.  Ann was sick and I was zipping from Luzern, Switzerland to Milan, Italy by myself.  I knew a letter from Dale was waiting for me at the American Express office in Milan.  Two middle-aged Italian men offered me a ride.  We didn’t share a language, but the map said we were going in the same direction.  As we neared the Italian border, I could tell the two were arguing and arguing!  Oh dear!  Suddenly the driver yanked the wheel and turned into an alley. He got out and plucked at my dress -- my green seersucker.  My heart stopped.  Then I realized he wanted me to stuff my dress with American cigarettes! He loosened his pants and filled his underwear with more Cigarettes.  He could barely button his jacket.  The three of us hid about three cartons of cigarettes.  Half an hour later I was almost as scared when I underwent the scrutiny of the customs officer.  I still suspect he knew, but didn’t want to create an international incident.

I’ve had both of those pieces of fabric for over fifty years and they are as good as new.  I knew there was a reason I was saving them!

Next I telephoned our daughter, Rebecca.  She is 300 miles away, up in Seattle and works at Trader Joes (a specialty grocery store) right in the heart of Kirtland’s virus hot spot.  When I called to ask if she’d like me to make her some masks, I interrupted her own mask sewing.  She was scrambling – but I have more free time than she does and she realizes she’d like a clean mask every hour or so.  I’m happy to help.  I promised the first batch would be in the mail in a couple of days. 

I realized I will be needing more fabric and the internet suggested ‘batik.’  That made no sense to either of us.  I’ve done batik, i.e. I drew designed on fabric with melted wax, dyed, dried, added more wax, dyed, dried … gradually building a lovely design.  Then you try to iron all the wax out and eventually you have a lovely, original piece of fabric.  I thought the internet suggestion must be a mistake. 

Our local fabric store doesn’t impress me, but there is one in Bozeman, Montana I love – Main Street Quilting.  Soon I was talking to a delightful woman who knew just what I needed.  I obviously wasn’t her first mask-making customer. I found out ‘Batik’ also refers to a commercial type of fabric often used by quilters, one noted for its tight weave.  She suggested I go to the shop’s internet site, just click on their batik offerings, and pick out pieces. 

Rebecca and I got on the phone again and both logged onto Main Street Quilting’s web site.  We were 300 miles away from each other.  Even so, we had a ball choosing fabric:  some for her and some for the guys(her husband, son and stepson).  Pretty soon we got the giggles.  One design looked too much like bacteria, another looked dusty, i.e. dirty,  a third had wonderful mushrooms on it -- there were plenty of good ones.

The quilting shop must have gotten my fabric in the mail the same day I ordered.  I already have it in my hot little hands. 

And for those of you who might be interested:  getting narrow elastic is another item that is now in short supply.  Ties are a definite possibility, but a nuisance if you are putting a mask on and off several times a day.  I tried ordering from a variety of places:  My quilt shop in Bozeman was out and so was my local store, another would ship May 26; another would send it from China – but when?  I happened to have quite a bit of wide elastic and Rebecca discovered it splits rather well!  We’re in business.