December 19, 2014

I got an early start and arrived at Honey Bee about 8AM. But, I could not find any eagles! So, I left and grabbed a 7-11 coffee. I went and sat under the nest and HK was there! He moved some sticks around and took off.

He did return again with a long branch and deposited it in the rear of the nest. He worked for about three minutes and left through the back. No photos. He did not return.
I was not able to relocate any eagles so I left for a while to look for raptors in another location.
When I returned, I was with my friend, Jane. Right away, we saw an eagle in a cypress tree vocalizing. A second eagle landed next to this one: HK (left) and Sterling looking regal.

They flew down the river and landed together in the Osprey nest, so Jane and I drove over there. That's Sterling in the nest and HK beside her.

HK eventually left the tower, gave us a beautiful flyover, and disappeared.

We drove to the nest, hoping to see him there, but no one was at home. So, we called it a day.

December 18, 2014

Just a quick trip out to Honey Bee to try some different camera settings. Fortunately, HK was perched beautifully in a cypress tree in fading light.

HK and Sterling, December 17, 2014

I got an early start today and located an eagle right away in the Osprey nest. It was HK at 9:00AM.

He flew just about 30 yards to a tree directly across from me (and in line with the sun) about 10 minures later.

Sterling showed up.

So, HK flew to be close to her.

They traded places, but not too cozy.

Then separated a bit.

Sterling took off (I missed that) followed by HK who gave an beautiful flyby.

I returned a couple of hours later and again located HK in the Osprey nest. He started vocalizing.

And flew again, with an even more awesome flyover.

And it became clear why he left. A rendezvous with Sterling was in the making! But, not a public one.

Just HK: December 16, 2014

I arrived at 9:23AM and found HK in a tree by the pro shop. He flew 25 minutes minutes later.

 And was relocated on a branch in the nest tree.

 HK hopped into nest and began moving sticks around (nestorations).

His job complete, he sat for a few minutes.

 Then, flew back to the Osprey nest....waiting for Sterling, who I never observed today.

December 12: HK, Sterling, and a juvie

The morning started out great! I spotted an eagle from the car descending rapidly in the nest vicinity. On a hunch, I drove to the nest and HK was sitting there.

He didn't stay long and left abruptly, which is pretty usual.

 I sat on the S. Independence bridge and spotted two eagles in flight. One was carrying a fish.

I don't know where they went, but eventually HK returned to a tower to preen and look around.

He left and after an hour or so, a juvenile eagle flew over.

About 20 minutes later, HK returned to the area. I left shortly thereafter.

Sterling and the intruder continued. December 11, 2014

I was only able to stop by Honey Bee briefly today.  I located the juvenile eagle from yesterday just as he was landing on the cell tower. He is a beautiful Bald Eagle.

I drove around for about 45 minutes hoping to locate HK and/or Sterling. I was able to locate Sterling on another tower and she took flight as I tried to get in position. But she did provide me with a great fly by just before sunset.

Sterling and an intruder eagle lock talons

I had seen this "talon lock" maneuver several times in the past several years, but they had been at a considerable distance. This time, the drama unfolded in front of me. I believe that Sterling was attempting to chase this intruder away.
I had been watching a new, younger (about 4+ years old) eagle fly in and out of the Osprey nest. Suddenly, a second, mature eagle appeared. This eagle turned out to be Sterling (right).

 I generally don't publish large quantities, but the experience was quite extraordinary! The shots are in sequence, as the action unfolded. As you scroll through the photos, Sterling's band on her right leg is visible on most of them. The younger eagle still has some dark tail and head feathers.

 The last photo is almost eye level as they tumbled towards the street (Sterling on top). This is when I got very scared that they were going to crash. I started running, but they disengaged at the last moment and flew in opposite directions, with Sterling landing about 1/4 mile away.