A Glimpse Of The Past

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Spring has sprung, the grass has riz, I wonder where the eagles is. They is right there in Yellowstone in the Eagle tree off of Madison Junction road. Well at least they were until a big wind storm blew the nest down taking the tree with it. These eagle nests can get extraordinarily heavy. There was a nest down in Florida that was recorded at nearly 3 tons, that’s slightly more than a Cadillac Escalade balanced up there on those spindly little branches.

When the wind came through it caused the entire tree with it’s top-heavy nest to fall over and that was that for close up bald eagle viewing on a nest. The nest had been there in that tree in continual use, for the entire 12 years I had photographed in Yellowstone. It would often be my first stop as I entered the park from West Yellowstone, Montana in the morning, which is when I caught one of parents above shoving Gobbets of something freshly killed down juniors throat.

The eagles are still there in Yellowstone, they’re still building nests and filling them with eaglets, they’re just not doing it along side the road where you could stop and watch every aspect of their lives anymore. There were folks that would camp out at the 100 yard perimeter that the park naturalists put in place to protect the eagle viewing area from people approaching to close to the tree and disturbing the birds. They’d be there from early morning to the last light of sunset for days at a time to observe and learn bald eagle behavior.

This is nature at work, the tree was blown down, the eagles had to move on and build another nest somewhere else, and that part of the eagles exposure to bird lovers was done. Nobody’s fault. I’m just thankful I got to take as many photos as I did over the years. I still miss the nest not being there though.

Spring Housekeeping

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It’s Spring and time for Spring housekeeping. After a long winter with the nest exposed to the elements there are plenty of things that need looking after. For us it means throwing out all the empty Heineken bottles and those pizza boxes from behind the couch that have accumulated over the Winter. For Golden Eagles it’s time to inspect the nest, perform a D & C (dusting and cleaning) and bring in new sticks to make the nest even snazzier than it was.

Here the male is bringing in a fresh stick that will just fit over the lintel and that will allow him to cross that little item off his To Do list. There’s lots more to be done and both of the pair work together to get things spic and span before the chicks arrive.

Speaking of chicks, it’s close to that egg laying time and the eagles have been taking the  time necessary to make sure that happens. That doesn’t just occur on its own. You’ve all had the birds and bees talk and it takes plenty of one on one time to ensure there are lots of eggs in the nest. You need a bunch of eggs because eagle raising is hazardous to the young eagles health. To get a couple of eaglets all the way to fledging is dicey, you need to start with several more than you need. Dark things happen in the nest and fowl play can often occur . Those are stories best left to another time.

Lets move on to cheerier subjects. From now on these Golden eagle parents will be spending their time decimating the rabbit population to feed those growing eaglets and handling the daily chores that arise. Cleaning the nest, removing carcasses, bringing in fresh sage and soft grasses to line the nest, all the usual eagle raising stuff. Young eagles have it pretty easy at this time of their lives, not speaking to the occasional fratricide that occurs. Their job is staying more towards the top of the nest, not to be in the bottom of the pile, growing feathers, trying their new sharp beak out on their brother, watching for the parents bring in rabbits, tussling to see who is most likely to be pushed from the nest, etc. It’s Spring time in the Rockies. We’re ready, are you.

Incoming !

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For several years I was fortunate to be able to observe and photograph a Redtail  hawks nest here on The Institutes grounds. We keep breeding pairs of as many animals and birds as can be safely kept in close proximity so that we can pry into their personal lives and most intimate moments. This is done strictly for scientific reasons. We do not condone the flagrant exploitation of animals for profit here at the Institute unless it can make us some money, of course.

Having these birds under such close scrutiny produced many spectacular images such as this one where the parents, I assume they were the parents, OMG! wouldn’t that have been awful if they weren’t and they were like home invaders or something, there to steal the chick and sell it into bird slavery to some raptor center. But luckily that wasn’t the case. It was the parents. They both landed next to each other, startled that the other one was there, then the male, the smaller of the two, took off again as the female made it clear date time was over and he should get his feathered butt out there and catch dinner.

Redtails are excellent, attentive parents that pride themselves on creating a good home environment for their young. The nest is sparkling clean, the parents continually remove the odd bits of rabbits, voles, rattlesnake and other leftovers from the nest and bring in soft clean nesting material to replace the stuff that gets soiled and thrown over the side when the youngster is displaying his displeasure at being left alone too long.

Usually there is one parent on or near the nest at all times but occasionally they both leave to hunt together or just have a date night and time away from junior. That’s what was going on here I believe. I had arrived and set up and noticed that both parents were gone and the young one was Home Alone. Redtails can pull that off and not get a visit from Child Services. Eustace as the young bird came to be named, you can see him there as a bit of white fluff cowering at the bottom of the nest, had been staring over the edge of the nest at something behind me and as I turned to look to see what held his interest his two parents came swooping by directly over head to flare out and land simultaneously on the nest together.

This had the effect of testing both Eustace’s and my heart. Him because suddenly there were two very big birds flying right into his face at the same time, and me because I had the presence of mind to push the shutter button in time to capture the moment. In photography there is a phenomenon known as “Holy Jumping Crap on a Stick” where you realize you actually got the shot and it makes you break into your squeaky pinchy happy dance and you race around your tripod saying “Yes, yes, yes!” at the top of your lungs. This was one of those moments. Now you can just pack up your stuff and go home because this days work is done.

I shot that nest and it’s occupants from 2009 through 2011 until an incredible wind storm came through and literally blew the nest out of the tree and never did I see this dual landing thing happen again. This is what makes you stand out in the hot sun for hours at a time, vainly looking around for something to happen, anything, and then suddenly for a few seconds of heart stopping action all hell breaks loose and it is all worth it.

There are just a few remnants of the nest hanging in the tree now and for the last summer or two there have been no sign of the Redtails. Now, lately, I’ve noticed one hanging around the nest site again. It appears to be alone at the moment and I haven’t seen any nest-building activity, but being the eternal optimist I think maybe there will be. That would be cool.

The Hairy Igloo Bird

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This is one of the classic mysteries of Nature. The Ouzel or Water Dipper is an evolutionary marvel. Thousands of years ago, maybe eight or maybe ninety, the jury’s still out on that one, these amazing birds were a native of the Great White North. To pick up their story we turn to our own *The Institutes’ resident birdologist, Dr. Lem Beakston, as he describes how this fascinating creature evolved.

He begins “Well in the beginning these weren’t the cute little birds they are today, oh no, they was roughly the size of a Yak and lived mostly in the snow, eh, and they didn’t do much flying around then neither because their wings weighed like two hunnert pounds each and was pretty heavy. They could jump some but not high as they was way too big, but it sure was noisy when they landed,” he chortled. At this point we pause in our story to let Dr. Beakston recover from his snorting fit. When he thinks something is funny, whether it is or not, these attacks can sometimes last for hours.

He finally continued “As it got colder there in the Great White North, like down to minus two million degrees sometimes, they had to save themselves from freezing because way too many of them was turning into great big Yak-cycles and stuntin’ their evolution. They was phasing their own selves out which as we all know is a dead-end evolution-wise. Now as they all was too big and tired from jumping all the time and they didn’t have a working brain between all of them except for one bright Dipper that figured if they made a round house out of ice, which they had more of than they needed, it being the ice-age and all, they could go in it and like stand there and not freeze. So they did, and that was the first igloo. They was way ahead of their time, trendsetters like, those dippers and an example to those late-comers the Inuits, who copied their round ice houses because they was freezing right and left too. So there it was you had Yak-cycles and frozen Inuit’s scattered all over the place until you couldn’t hardly walk without stepping on one them except for the ones in the round ice houses ….” We pause again as Dr. Beakston wandered off and was scratching in the dirt for something kind of worm-like. Oh no !. Man, he did not just eat that, did he? We need to break here for a moment while we try and get Dr. Beakston to spit that out.

Actually I was beginning to doubt the facts of Dr. Beakston’s narration and since he wouldn’t spit out what ever that was he ate, I’ll just paraphrase the rest of his explanation so we can on with this whole thing. It turns out, according to Dr. Beakston, that through lots of trial and error they got the whole igloo building thing down but were soon besieged with another problem, global warming. It got hot. It melted their ice houses and made them sweat. What with all the jumping around they did they got smaller and soon the ice was gone and they were the size of chickens. It also got wet, like  water everywhere wet, and they soon found that jumping in the water and catching bugs was a good way to make a living plus for birds they could hold their breath for about a day. They got smaller yet and very soon they were the size they are now, which is like the size of a robin. Maybe a little smaller. But remember that old bugaboo, evolution, well it burned into their DNA the fact that they needed to build round houses, because that is just what they do. So they did. Only now they used moss, and hair and make perfect little round houses to live in, not to keep from freezing, because as soon as it starts to get cold these guys bail and head for warmer places. Well Beakston was mumbling by now and picking at his teeth or I should say his tooth and I didn’t really get all the rest of what he was saying, but I don’t think it mattered by then.

You know the more I listened and thought about what Beakston said the more I think this whole story is a load of bull pucky. I don’t think this goofball has the slightest idea what he’s talking about. I checked up on Wiki-lies and sure enough he’s listed there. They even have his picture with the warning ” Hey! Do not listen to this guy. He is full of it. Walk away from him. Do Not Give Him Money!”  So there may not be much truth in his story except for the fact that these birds are called Ouzels or Water Dippers and they do build beautiful round little houses out of moss that look just like igloos but that’s it. The rest is just a load of crap. I need to look at Beakston’s resume again, he might have faked some of his credentials. I am now beginning to worry about the Institutes reputation.

 Anyway if you come across one of these little round houses built on a bridge abutment like the one above is, and it is very near a stream and you see a small bird dipping in and out of the water you’ll know what it is and you can amaze your friends and loved ones with your knowledge of the great out-of-doors. That’s what the Institute of Regained Knowledge or IRK does, it provides you with a learning experience that you can’t get anywhere else. Meanwhile believe half of what you read but most of what you see and you’ll do just fine.

* Note: For those of you unfamiliar with The Institute and what it does, please see the page labeled The Institute on the Menu Bar above. That should explain everything. You shouldn’t have one single question remaining regarding The Institute after reading it. None. For those of you favored few who already know about the Institute, Nevermind. Return to your daily activities. Thank you for your support.

I Just Can’t Get Enough

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This Kestrel, a small hawk about the same size as a Flicker is definitely a Type A kind of bird. I was shooting Osprey on their nest when he flew in carrying a mouse and landed on the phone pole right next door. This was unusual behavior because normally raptors don’t like other raptors, regardless of size, in their territory and will run them off immediately. But these Osprey were a little more laid back regarding competitors that are half the size of their own young and ignored him completely. Being the hard charger that he is as soon as he landed he spotted this bug and lunged towards it. Lunging with a dead mouse in your talons, small though they may be, tends to cramp your lunging style and he totally missed the bug. Acting as if he meant to miss it all along he soon began feeding on his mouse and if there was any embarrassment over the missed play he didn’t let it show. I personally think he was just showing off, trying to impress the neighbors with just how bad he was.

Have Some Nice Rabbit Ear, M’Dear

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A few seasons ago I was fortunate (read really lucky) to find an open Great Horned Owls nest that was mostly unobstructed by branches, leaves or other things put there by the photo gods to make a photographers’ life miserable. The owlets are good-sized by now, it is early April, and they still need food to be brought in by their Mother. She works hard for her living (my apologies to Ms. Summers) and brings a variety of offerings to the nest. This morning they were extremely lucky because she brought in a nice fat rabbit. Their usual fare is mice or voles, sometimes a snake and on the rarest of occasions a small peasant child. No wait, I made that up, this was supposed to be the April 1st posting.  She is very careful around the young ones and feeds them in a delicate almost refined manner. Not like the hawks and Eagles which look like they used a chainsaw to prepare their prey. The young however aren’t quite as refined and will grab a portion like this and force the whole thing down their gullet in one big gulp. It doesn’t take long for the rabbit to be totally consumed and after the owlets have stuffed themselves silly they settle down for a nap. It isn’t long before they’re up and at ’em again but Mother is done for the day. They’ll have to make due with whatever leftovers they find around the nest because she isn’t leaving again until dark.