Afternoon Delight: the Banded Female, the Mystery Male, and HK 12.30.13

Early arrival at Honey Bee for me, about 9am. HK was perched on the golf course in a favorite tree.

HK flew and I went searching. I didn't find him but I did come across these 2 eagles perched on a tower in the Glenwood subdivision. One was the banded female, but the other was.......a mystery eagle. I could not get a good look at him.

The banded female was busy with a late morning squirrel breakfast and she was not sharing.

The mystery eagle seemed to be protecting her.

 Suddenly, the mystery eagle started chattering and took off.

The female was not happy.

The mystery eagle landed again, and they squawked at each other. I could hear another eagle chattering nearby.

 The mystery male took off again.

 And he returned again.

The mystery eagle whispered some sweet nothings in her ear.

They dropped down a bar on the tower. He quickly moved over and mounted the banded female.

She did not object.

More eagle chatter and here comes........HK!  The pair took off (I briefly lost track of them). HK circled around the area and a fourth eagle flew up....and away!

Lucky for me, HK landed in a tower on S. Independence where I had just parked.

 
He immediately started chattering and when l looked down the tower line,

There they were!

 HK sat dejected on this tower for about 20 minutes until I left.

Total encounter time: 3 hours.

December 26, 2013 VERY quick observation

Busy, busy time during the holidays! I snuck out to Honey Bee about 3:30pm and was lucky to find HK perched in the Osprey nest tower. I parked just in front and as is common practice, stayed in my car so as not to make HK change his behavior and fly off.

Unfortunately, another photographer didn't know or maybe didn't care about any of that. He deliberately walked onto the golf course at the first tee and proceeded to click away with his huge lens. And, of course.....HK flew off.

Yes, I got the photographer's photo as well. He knows who he is!

Bonding or mating.....it was exciting to watch. Observations from Decemer 23, 2013

I got to Honey Bee way later than I wanted to. But as I rolled down S. Independence just before 10:30am, my heart skipped a few beats! There were two eagles on the Osprey nest tower!

 I was able to determine that it was the banded female in the nest and HK perched protectively on the tower. I pulled my SUV off the road and parked. And settled in to watch and learn.

HK hopped in and hopped out of the nest several times.

 At one point, he looked directly at me. I was still in the SUV.

The last time he hopped in, both eagles disappeared for about two minutes. What were they doing?!
This is what I saw when they reappeared.

It seemed as though it was bonding or perhaps mating. Maybe HK was dismounting her. He moved off to the side. (HK on the right)

Then he hopped to the right side of the tower and she remained in the Osprey nest.

They stayed there for a good while.

And eventually flew off.
And I was left with a couple of hundred photos! I had never witnessed this and I was breathless! An amazing experience!

A quick late afternoon visit

Lots going on in preparation for Christmas, but I did manage a short trip to Honey Bee. I was able to find HK right away, perched in his favorite cypress tree. He sat there the entire time I was there. REALLY appreciate that, HK!!

HK Feeling Flighty 12.19.13

I was so looking forward to encountering HK today! I had been away for a brief trip to Florida and needed an eagle sighting in the worst way! I was not disappointed! When I arrived, HK was perched in the eating tree, surrounded by countless Crows!

He didn't stay there very long. He flew to the river and when I caught sight of him again, he was flying with a fish in his mouth!

It was a rather small fish, which HK consumed rather quickly. Then he flew to another tree.

 Eventually, he flew to the river for yet another fish!

He flew around some more.

He landed again and hopped around a bit.

 

Then, coasted down into the water for a bath, and back to the tree to dry out.

He flew again.

Then landed once again, only to deal with those pesky Crows!

 
Great afternoon, HK! Thank you!