Dale Matson
Click On Photographs To Enlarge
Empty Nest 06-15-18
After the Red-Tailed Hawk fledged I
continued to observe and photograph the eagles until they also fledged. That
was my original mission. Assuming the eagles and hawk were about the same ages,
after the hawk fledged, it would be around twenty more days before the eagles
fledged.
It was amusing to watch the eagles
as they looked at the hawk practice flying with lots of wing flapping. The
eagles were on a different clock and probably didn’t understand the antics of
their (step) sibling.
I informed Mike Smith the Millerton
Lake resident expert on eagles and the docent on the winter eagle boat tours
about the hawk. He was unaware at the time that the Golden Eagle nest also
contained a hawk. We went up together to see the hawk and he stopped at a more
distant viewing site. He told me, “Ethically I can’t go any closer”. I told him
that I would honor his concern that day while with him.
At a later time, I got a
communication from him following him observing my wife and I climbing away from
a closer view sight. The e-mail cautioned me that we were endangering the young
eagles. He was doing his final yearly eagle survey from a boat on the lake. He
informed me that this was a time of particular stress and that they might
prematurely fledge. This is referred to in the literature as “forced
fledgling”.
I took his caution seriously and
knew that I could still monitor the eagles from across Millerton Lake on the
Fresno County side. My camera and lens were capable of more than 800mm which is
similar to a spotting scope. The photos would not be of good quality but good
enough to know and record when the eagles fledged without endangering them by
being too close and rushing the process.
The distance was now further than
any passing boat and about a third of a mile away. I’m sure the eagles could
still see me but were not at all stressed at my viewing and photographing them
at such a distance.
I am still puzzled at how little
time the adults spent in the nest with the nestlings. They would sit for hours
high above the nest, often together, on a dead snag tree.
Parents Perched Far Above Nest From Across Lake
I watched and
photographed another Golden Eagle nest in the Madera County foothills and the
adults were in the nest often. The Millerton nestlings were like “Latch Key
Children”. The parenting styles were dramatically different.
About a week and a half ago I
observed both nestlings doing considerable wing flapping. I also got a photo of
both nestlings with the hawk perched above them for a visit. Last week they were
flapping their wings and perched above and around the nest. The short video I
included shows the one nestling above and flying down to the nest.
Testing Wings
Testing Wings
Eagle Hawk Reunion From Across Lake
Eagle Testing Wings From Across Lake
Yesterday, there was no sign of the
nestlings in or around the nest for the two hours I watched from the other side
of the lake. Mike was OK with me going up to the view site we were at but I
resisted doing this until it was evident that both birds had fledged. I went up
to the Madera side view site this morning with no birds evident for two hours
in or near the nest. I was disappointed, thinking that now that the eagles had
fledged, I might never see them again. The nest looked so abandoned. Before
this the empty nest in January was a sign of possibilities to come.
Empty Nest Photographed From Across Lake
Empty Nest Photographed From Across Lake
Eagle Fledge Returns To Lower Limb Of Nest Tree
As I was about to leave, one of the
eagles landed on a limb below the nest. It wasn’t a clear view for me but I was
somewhat reassured that the nestlings had successfully fledged.
What a wonderful experience! I will
have some final thoughts on an epilogue post.
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