Eagle Sightings

Being too cold to go out, it was a lazy stay-in this weekend. And keep an eye out the window! 🙂 Which I was glad I did, both Saturday and Sunday there were numerous eagles in our area. Many times with binoculars, we could see eagles in the distance, flying and spiraling, playing, I even saw one chasing after a possible dinner. I wasn’t sure who was successful as I lost sighting, the eagle capturing dinner….or the duck successfully escaping. Yesterday, the following pair circled around the area together, then headed for Lipincott’s channel marker for a brief break.

They stayed less than a minute and then this pair flew over to CBEC and landed in the same tree area I normally see a pair perch. Today I watched eagles standing several hundred yards behind the osprey nest standing out on the iced-over entrance to Marshy Creek. I have seen eagles standing on ice before at Blackwater NWR but this was a first here! With the distance, the photos aren’t too clear, sorry. The adult eagle is dining on a duck while an immature eagle watches.

The adult eagle wasn’t interested in sharing and let the younger eagle know several times. Once he had his fill of the duck, the adult eagle flew about 10 feet away to another ice spot and watched while the younger eagle jumped onto the leftovers. A couple of seagulls was hoping for a morsel, but the young eagle picked up and took off with the balance of his meal and flew over to CBEC and down into a tree. The seagulls immediately tried to find anything left on the ice. The adult eagle watched them and then flew back to the spot to pick at the ice. Out of nowhere another adult eagle dropped on to the ice and they both stood briefly together, before flying up and off together over to Kent Island.

What a fantastic weekend for eagle watching right from our community! As a reminder, I had previously mentioned that Blackwater’s eagle cam was capturing their pair of eagles and the laying of not two, but now three eggs! This is the first clutch of three for Blackwater’s eagle nest cam so it has produced quite excitement at Blackwater. Don’t forget to look in on the pair as they work hard to protect and keep their eggs warm, with the first eaglet hatching approximately February 17.

Finally, a photo of a pair of geese reflecting in the still water alongside our berm.