December 4, 2013.....lots of action and lots of pics!

I arrived just before 11am. An eagle was sitting beside the Osprey nest on S. Independence Blvd.

I parked close by and stayed in my SUV. After a few minutes, the eagle hopped into the nest, and immediately hopped out and moved to the other side of the tower, as if waiting for someone.

I was then pretty sure that  it was the banded female after reviewing a few pictures. At 11:35 she inexplicably flew down river towards Ware Neck Drive.

I began driving across the bridge and suddenly saw an eagle coming back from the same direction.

 I assumed it was the female returning, so I backed up and this time got out of my SUV just in time to catch the eagle landing in the Honey Bee clubhouse area.

I was still unsure of which eagle it was, when it flew down river again and landed in another tree. Suddenly a juvenile eagle showed up and took that perch and the older eagle flew across the water to a Cypress tree. The juvie soon followed, there was some interaction, the juvie flew towards the Osprey nest, changed its mind about landing there, and disappeared. After I caught my breath, I was able to review some photos and determined that the older eagle was HK.

I was now back at the Ware Neck area, when HK took off and....landed on the riverbank! He hopped down on a branch, into the water, and came up with a fish! And flew to the eating tree to eat his lunch.

After HK finished dining, he decided to clean up a bit. So, he flew back down towards the clubhouse area and went into the water.

He bathed for about 10 minutes shook himself a bit, gave me a long look, and flew off.

I was able to find him again after driving through the neighborhood for about 30 minutes. He was behind a house in a pine tree with wings spread and feathers ruffled.....drying out after his bath.

It was  wonderful to observe HK fairly close and I was able to take a few close ups. It was a grand end to an awesome day with the Bald Eagles at Honey Bee.
Observation period 10:48am - 3:45pm.