McGills Nature In Motion

Eagle Journal March 14, 2010

Spring Ahead time so it is 7:30 and 43 degrees. It is going to be overcast and gloomy.

The first raven is calling right on time. A hawk is in the maple. The raven scout flies by then went into the tree with the hawk. It took off soaring to the west. It was a rough-legged hawk.

I don’t have to worry about reflections off the snow today. There is no snow. The ravens are on the ground but farther out.

8:00 the rough-leg is back into the trees. The ravens take off tattling to the eagles.

There is a raven on the pile at 8:15. The 2^nd rough-leg came into the trees to the west.

Wow, a coyote is coming across the field from the west. The ravens aren’t even afraid of it. It is acting very strange. It stops then weaves in other direction. It does this for over a half an hour. It makes its way to the northeast and eventually disappears. When we watched the footage at home it appeared that the coyote would almost fall over when standing still.

Seagulls are in at 9:05 but didn’t stay long. And the rough-legged hawk left at some point while we were watching the coyote.

There are ten ravens on the ground back by the tree line at 9:15 but everything is being very quiet. Ok the seagulls are back and there is a raven on the roof. Hopefully we will have some action now. Nope, no such luck.

The ravens chased off the rough-legged hawk again. Then we had a flock of starlings on the roof. 10:00 and everything is gone. So it is time to take a snooze.

We had a few other views of the rough-leg but they never came into the pile or even stayed in the trees that long. We even had a red-tailed hawk that wanted to come into the pile but the crows wouldn’t let it alone.

We had up to forty crows and ravens in at one time but …. Nothing! We never even caught a glimpse of an eagle until we were on our way home. Just as we got on to U.S. 131 we spotted a mature eagle in a dead tree to the east. I got a couple of shots off. It was banded. I am sure it is one that we had in earlier in the year. Sweet. We finally decided to call it quits. It is the end of another season. We will miss our early morning treks across Jim’s field but there will always be next season. We will be off to the U.P. in April to do the Sharp-tail Grouse count at Seney National Wildlife Refuge.

February 21,  2010
It is 25 degrees with a north, northwest wind. At 7:30 there is a rough-legged hawk in a tree. There are ravens in a tree. Seven ravens took off, one flew over the area to scout, the others flew into another tree.
8:30 six to eight ravens to the east of us on the ground. They are messing around pulling a bare bone around. Quite comical.

Heard an eagle chattering. There is a mature in a tree to the west. A second mature showed up around 9:00in the same tree.

9:30 a rough-legged hawk in on the carcass. By the time we get ready to shoot it, a mature comes in to chase it  off. The eagle sits for a few minutes then back to the trees. Thanks for nothing!

A couple of seagulls showed up at 10:00 but didn’t hang around. I spotted a dark morph rough-leg circling but it just kept heading east.  Hope this isn’t a repeat of the last two outings.

The eagles continue to just sit while the ravens have disappeared. Wow, this is pathetic.

Ok the ravens are back along with a couple of seagulls. But…? The mature took off after a red-tail hawk. Then the other mature took off at 11:30.

I think as it approaches the mating season our eagles are going back to their territories. They are re-staking their claim, preparing and reinforcing their nest. First time mating eagles are searching for partners.

Also waters haven’t thoroughly frozen over due to the mild temperatures.

So it could be a multitude of these factors. Who knows, that’s why we are journaling as we go.

A rough-legged hawk flew into the tree that the Red-tail hawk had come back to and forced him to go to the swamp.

At 12:30 a mature came back and knocked the rough-leg off. The red-tail is back in a tree but the rough-leg knocked off again. They both took off. What a pain, I was at least hoping for some hawk shots.

The ravens and seagulls are briefly on the pile. A raven and one of the dark seagulls are fighting over some meat. Bam! Smudgie is the mature eagle we have right now. She just forced the rough-leg off its tree and it flew off to the east.

1:00 the rough-leg is back flying low to the west. The snow is picking up. The raven are getting hyper and flew to the swamp squawking. Three ravens and some seagull are back within ten minutes as the wind picks up.

By 1:30 the ravens were getting aggressive flying into the pile. Then swoosh came Smudgie into the pile to grab the piece of meat the raven & dark seagull had been fighting over. First she tried to carry it off but it was too cumbersome. Finally after her third attempt she succeeded to get back to a low tree with it with five ravens escorting her all the way. Sweet!! Michael and I were able to get some great footage and shots!

I think it really does make a difference if the seagull are here or not. More competition, loud squawking announcing the feeding frenzy.

Smudgie came in again but didn’t hang around or even take anything. When she flew back to the trees a second year flew into the same tree. Sweet! Maybe we will get some more action.

Today the seagulls squawking is music to my ears, no matter what Michael thinks. I know they are irritating the eagles and they will fly when the eagles are flying.

Darn ravens are hassling the second year. One is swinging from its beak on a branch right by the young eagle. Whatever! Doesn’t it realize that the eagle could take it out in one swipe?

Wow everything took off. The ravens were really carrying on. Come to find out they were chasing a poor hawk into the swamp. They are really brazen creatures. 2:30 the second year wanted to participate in chasing the hawk but thought better of it.

There is a raven to the east of us with a snowball in its mouth being chased by ten other ravens. Then the second year got in on the chase. The raven dropped the snowball at the edge of the trees. The second year dropped down to find it only to find that it was nothing. Smudgie is chattering at it as if to say ‘what are you thinking’.

I took a break and when I looked Smudgie had moved farther west and the second year popped up later nearby. Smudgie finally took off soaring farther and farther northwest. A few minutes later the second year took off, too.

At 3:30 I laid my head down for a few minutes. When I heard the starlings take off I looked out and there was a rough-leg to the west of the pile. It flew closer then took off with me getting one shot and Michael couldn’t even get his camera on quick enough.

We hear the ravens coming back making a lot of noise. They are probably hassling a hawk again. We decide by 4:30 that nothing else was really probably going to happen. It was getting darker and snowier so we called it quits for the day. But we were very happy with what we were able to capture today. There is hope for the next time. We are happy just getting footage of the hawks. It is really the main way we can capture good footage.

February 7, 2010

7:30 there are two mature eagles sitting in the trees chattering. It is a brisk 13 degrees below zero. We had issues with our buddy heater, of course, on one of the coldest mornings. So just bundled up with blankets and waited for the sun to warm up the blind.

By 9:30 there is NOTHING!!!! Finally at 11:00 a mature eagle is back in a tree in front of us.  Then an immature show up in another tree. The mature went over and knocked the immature off. It proceeded to fly west without a backwards glance.

There are a few ravens on the ground messing around. They are so entertaining to watch. That’s what inspired me to write my children’s book.

There finally a seagull flying around but doesn’t want to come into the pile. By 12:00 we still have one mature in the trees and a different immature in another tree.

We have two hawks flying over the swamp but they are being hassled by a flock of ravens. They chase them off to the east and out of our sight.

A hawk shows up in one of the trees along with some ravens.  Three raven take off heading west with the mature eagle chasing them. It then comes back to the trees to sit, again. It’s 12:30.

There are now two eagles and a hawk soaring around. No, make that three mature eagles flying around.

Then….nothing, they are all gone. It’s a beautiful day but….nothing.

2:00 twenty-seven degrees and something is on our roof. It is a seagull. He flies off to land on the carcass and then…nothing. What is up with that??

2:45 there is a tree full of ravens and starlings. Some ravens come down to the carcass. One raven had a piece of meat and buried it. When other ravens came in, he unburied and ate it. How comical.

Not much activity but once again a beautiful day for enjoying nature.

February 1, 2010

It’s 16 degrees, at 7:40. The first raven in at 9:00 near the pile.. The sun is shining and clear. The first seagull in at 10:20. It’s 24 degrees and getting windy from the north, northwest.

When Michael came out on Friday there was no meat. So he put a road kill and some butcher scraps. By Saturday  Jim said there was one eagle and one hawk. Sunday there was only 5-8 ravens and seagulls. Today not much happeningL.

Starlings in at 12:30 with seagulls flying around 1:30. We saw hawks flying over the swamps.

It is a beautiful picturesque day but sadly no eagles except one soaring high in the sky to the north.

But I was getting a lot of writing done. I am fine tuning my children’s book. Also getting my Pictured Rocks/Lighthouse page done for our website.

It wonderful to be able to be out in nature to get inspired to write about nature. So even though we didn’t capture any footage, we captured a feeling.

January 17, 2010

It is 22 degrees we take a quick 30 minute snooze and then get our windows opened as quietly as possible. Michael discovered that if he opened the window before daylight it seemed to eliminate wariness of the birds.

7:55 we hear the ravens arriving. There is luckily no ‘sentry’ in the trees. The first eagle was in at 8:00. It is an immature. A second immature comes into the trees a few minutes later. The two chase a raven with something in its mouth. The all of a sudden there are four eagles!

The first seagull was in at 8:50. Whoa! An immature flew low right between the trailer and the carrion pile.

A raven came into get a piece of meat.  A mature is chattering but took off as another mature does a fly-by at 9:30.

The mature is Miss Smudgy who is chattering. She does a fly by and grabs a piece of meat. A juvenile takes off after her. One of the second year(whitely) is in a tree chattering.

A juvenile, Little Rosie, comes back and gets a piece of meat. Then a mature and immature take off after her. One of the Whiteys lands out on the ground and stays there till 10:15. Another mature is in on the ground in front of us. Two immature are on the ground back further. One gets a piece and Miss Smudgy is back for more, too.

It is a very busy morning with eagles changing positions and doing fly-bys.  It is only 10:50! Another immature that didn’t get a piece early came into get something.

All of a sudden a gunshot went off nearby.  That spooked everything for a while.

A third year came in from the north to the trees with two matures. It is now 32 degrees.

The ravens are in Big Time at noon! At 12:30 a mature flies in behind us.  Then Smudgy comes back to get another piece with two immature taking off after her. By 1:00 she does a fly-by chattering all the way.

A third year was in but too skitterish to stay long. For some reason the third year eagles are the worst for being nervous and too cautious. They are the hardest to get good shots or footage of. So we are always happy when  we can manage a quick shot of one.

We have five eagles in one tree right now three mature and two immature. Then all of a sudden we have two mature on the ground and one second year.  The mature get a piece that the immature tried to get.

2:00 one of the whiteys is in to get something. She did manage to eventually get a piece after dropping it. Then all heck broke loose. The third year an a mature tangled in midair to the west of us . Five immature are swarming and chattering all around us. Never a dull moment.

Then …nothing … until Whitey and a mature take off then two more mature fly. There is a lot of action in and out of the area.

One of the juvenile is on the ground back by the trees. A mature then second year then a third year and another third year are all on the ground but…. None smart enough to come in to the pile though.

The second year  was on the ground for over 45 minutes. Oh my aching arms!! Do you know how hard it is to stay focused on one object for that long holding a four pound camera and lens??  Needless to say I will feel it tomorrow. This took place before 4:30.

5:00 the second year is back on the ground. She almost goes for the meat but then…no. A mature and another second year do a fly-by. There is still three mature in the trees and a juvenile.

Basically, no more action just eagles sitting in the trees waiting for someone else to do something. Eventually, they all finally left after 5:30.

But it definitely was a full day of fun and action!!! I think Michael is right we have to really stay back away from the windows as much as possible, keeping movements and noise to a minimal. It is very hard for me, but I will try!

January 10, 2010

It is a cold clear morning at 18 degrees.  There is a mature in the trees when we get up to open the windows. We wonder if it roosted there all night. Another mature is flying around along with an immature at 8:30.

At 9:15 a mature circled around and got something. We have two immature and the one mature flying in and out but not landing.  There are lots of ravens around too.

At 10:45 another mature flies in from the northeast. 11:10 we have a raven with a piece of something that gets chased by two immature and two mature.

We now have three matures and a juvenile at 11:30. Sweet. A full mature female came into the pile at 12:20. The other matures and immature are flying around. They leave the area for awhile then reappear. Interesting.

At 1:35 it is windy and 28 degrees. We have had five different matures and five different immature throughout the day.

At 3:00 a mature is in for  piece of meat that the juvenile wanted. A banded mature is the one that gets the meat. The juvenile is left guarding the pile. There is a second year(whitey), two mature and the juvenile. The juvenile tries to fly off with a piece but to no avail.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. The eagles did not appear to be very hungry. Oh well, another day.

December 27, 2009

Being that it is the Holiday I had to work so Michael decide to give it a try on his own. He decided not to sleep but to open up the window before daylight. He wanted to see how it would affect the birds coming into the pile. He was serenaded by ravens first thing in the morning. They covered the ground in a black blanket. Seven eagles watched as the ravens fed and fought with each other. Soon a second year beautiful female landed on the ground to the north of the pile. She cautiously walked into the meat area where ravens proceeded to taunt her. She got so close to the trailer that it was hard for Michael to pull back his focus. Sweet!!! The second years are one of the most beautiful stages of the eagle. Their chest feathers are mostly white with speckling of brown. They also have a very distinct striping of brown over their eyes.

The second year got spooked by something. She stopped eating and moved back behind the pile. It could be the onslaught of seagulls coming into share the meat.  She suddenly took off back to the trees. Then she suddenly came back to chase off a younger eagle that wanted to get a piece of the action.

We are always amazed at how the other birds, ravens, seagulls and even the little starlings don’t seem to really fear the strong talons and beak. Even when a raven yanked on the third years tail feathers it only turned around as if to say ‘stop’ but not with too much force.
The other young eagle came back to the north who got surrounded and forced to leave by the ravens.

Then a full mature came to the west of the pile, Mudhen, who it them approached by a five year old female we will call Smudge(because of the dark smudges around her eyes. Mudhen proceed into the pile. All of a sudden  a lot of chattering started. The second year came back in only to be flipped & attacked by Smudge. Then a first year flew in behind them. AWESOME!!!
So we have four eagles on the ground within Michael’s range of vision. Mudhen got pushed off a carcass by the second year. Smudge is chattered. The second year  knocks Mudhen off the meat ball as Smudge comes into the carcass. Then a third mature comes in this one is a four year old male with still a lot of black on its beak and head.  The juvenile comes to the back of the pile while Mudhen is to the front of the pile.

Michael now has five eagles in his screen. This is better then being in Alaska!! All are within fifteen feet of the blind They are all trying to eat off the same meat pile. A sixth eagle come into the area. It’s another second year. So we have a juvenile, two second year, a fourth year, a fifth year and a sixth year(MudHen).
All of a sudden they started to fight. Smudge goes back and attacks the juvenile chasing it off. Then she flew  to the side she comes back to attack the second year that is on meatball. The juvenile came back the second year takes off over the blind where it hits its wings. Sweet!! The three matures just stand staring at each other then Smudge attacks the fourth year but it doesn’t budge. Immediately after comes the juvenile to attack the fourth year. Then she comes back and knocks them both off the meat. 

The other second year stays way off in the distance as fourth year starts eating on the meatball with Mudhen behind her. Smudge comes back to knock Mudhen off the carcass he had started to feed on. She is a very pushy broad. Mudhen flies up to where the fourth year is and the second year is still off in the distance. And Smudge continues to feed on the carcass.  All the time the ravens keep bouncing in and out of the area.

Oh my Gosh!!!! This is so awesome. Michael couldn’t keep track of who was where and when and how.

I am writing this as we watch his spectacular footage.

From the west come the first second year back to hit Mudhen . Then Smudge goes after the second year. We aren’t sure just what happened to them. The fourth year starts eating on the meatball. And Miss Smudge came back to the carcass after chasing off the others.  The fourth year left the meatball. Mudhen came up to it but flew back when Smudge came popping back into the picture. So all three matures are still in the frame.

They take a few minutes to eat. The fourth year enjoyed the frozen meatball while Miss Smudge enjoys the carcass. Not sure what Mudhen was picking at. Then the poor fourth year got knocked off by Smudge. She dug right into the meatball ravenously. Mudhen proceed to eat on the carcass. The fourth year knocked him off the carcass as the second year finally moved up from behind. A raven decides to harass the second year.

The fourth year moves off the carcass as Smudge continues to eat on the meatball. Mudhen is off to the side as the first year swoops in trying to knock the second year off the carcass. So w have a first year, a second year, a fourth year, a fifth year and a sixth year. Sweet!!! The third years seem to be more elusive unfortunately.

The fourth  year flies back behind the second year as another first year comes into the pile from the east where the first juvenile and Mudhen are with Smudge still on the meatball!!! Wow I am tired and I wasn’t even there.

The six played musical meatballs. Oh my gosh,  Michael can’t believe it. Here he is en Northern Michigan.

The one juvenile flew into the other juvenile which knocked Smudge off the pile but not for long. The raven started to carry on which caused the eagles to be on alert. Smudge flew off the meatball put not to far. She is the only remaining eagle in sight(for now).  But you can hear the chattering of the others as they go back to the trees .  Then Smudge took off, too.

One of the second years comes back but not for long. It takes off as the fourth year lands on the ground behind it. The fourth year sits and sits and sits. It finally she comes in a little closer. A ravens harass it but it chatters at it. Everything takes off as the eagle sits and looks all around. But it was a false alarm the seagulls and ravens all converge back to the pile.

Later a juvenile comes in but takes off as a mature lands behind it. Then as Michael pans back a second year is in the same place as the juvie was. The mature took off behind the blind. We think they actually go back to check out to make sure nothing is around.  The second year stays around then flies into the pile where a juvenile is actually eating but does not budge off. This is the juvenile that is banded on the right leg meaning it is a Lower Peninsula bird. The second year is still off to the side where it found a piece of meat that a seagull had drug off. This second year is a male. We seem to have more females than males which is in keeping with the research teams info.

Now we have Mudhen  in the picture with another mature out farther. All of a sudden the second year knocked the juvenile off the meatball and Mudhen moved  off.  The second year chattered as it took position on the meatball while Mudhen and the distant mature we will call Goldie for her beautiful golden beak. Then  yet another fifth year shows up. This one has a spot on its head.

The matures seem to be sentries for the young as they feed.  The ravens started pulling the juveniles tail more than once but it didn’t care it was too busy eating. A raven pulled off a piece of meat in front of the eagles. It made a noise as if to say ‘look at me’ and flew off….with all of the eagles chasing after him. We know it is a game that these ravens love to play.

Out of nowhere another mature was on the ground and then gone.  A juvenile was on the pile then a second year chases it off. The second year male feeds on the meatball for sometime. The banded female juvenile ends up back on the pile but keeps its distance from the second year. Even though the juvenile wasn’t bothering the second year still shooed it off the pile but it didn’t go far. The ravens had a little fun with it.

The second year got nervous and finally flew off so the banded juvenile came up to the meatball. The fourth year comes back down to the ground. A second year spooks the juvenile but he comes back to the meatball as the second year and fourth year look on from a distance. This is a different second year then the previous two. This one is really white. Well the ravens needed a little more entertainment so they decided to pick on this male second year. It got tired of them and moved out.

Then  in comes a different juvenile, a female. It decides to walk up to the carcass.  It then proceed up to the meatball which it attacked with a vengeance  . A darker second year came near but didn’t do much but chatter. The fourth year is still sitting where it was. A third year flew in behind it and was attacked by a raven. Whatever! Michael finally has a first year, second year, third year and a fourth year. Sweet!!

The second year started chattering and chased the juvenile off the meat ball where it proceed to fee. The third year female and the fourth year female maintained their distance. Then the mature female with the spot on it head shows back up.

The third year walked away looking like an old man to investigate some old bones. It is so funny to see how such a regal bird can looks so  ridiculous.

Ok, another mature enters the picture where it proceeds to attack the fourth year old and the spotted head mature female comes in to get involved as the third year looks on. The second year disappeared and left the third year and fourth year together. Michael got some sweet footage of the two almost side by side. Finally the fourth year flew straight at the camera. Sweet. Then Heady(the one with a spot on her head) came in and attacked the third year.

A second and fourth year landed on the ground for just a short time. Heady walked and sat and walked and sat for sometime before it finally got a small piece of meat. She chattered and chattered off and on the whole time. As she comes closer we realize that she has had some damaged to one of her eyes.  As soon as she gets the meat she is off.

And so that ends Michael’s most spectacular  day every!!!! Even though I couldn't be there to share it, I was able to view all of the great footage he captured and therefore write this journal.

December 20, 2009

Well, we didn’t get back out as soon as we had hoped.  It is 24 degrees and overcast. At 8:20 there are twenty plus seagulls and a few ravens. A mature eagle flies in from the east at 8:50.

There are five ravens chasing another one with a piece of snow in it’s mouth.  A juvenile goes after the raven who decided to drop it. The juvenile went to get it but the raven grabbed it back up and took off.

Another mature from the north went into the maple tree at 9:00. So we have three young and two mature  eagles. One of the young is a second year with a lot of white on it’s chest. They are so beautiful. It is so interesting to see the various stages of plumage each eagle is in. Eagles do not molt all at one time put a few feathers at a time. Otherwise they would be defenseless against any predators.

The seagulls all fly off but circle and circle then land off the pile. They are very quiet. Then we discover the reason, one of the matures we lost track of landed in a tree with three other eagles. Another mature comes from the north to the maple tree. And yet another shows up on the perching tree. So we now have four mature and four immature. The two mature from the north are together in the maple tree. The other eagles are playing musical trees with each other. It is 9:40 so already a busy day. One of the mature  from the maple tree took off and headed north.
A juvenile eagle joins the other five in one tree. There is another eagle circling then headed southwest.

We have one mature and two immature behind us on the ground. The another immature joins them. We have one juvenile and two second year(whiteys).  They don’t actually fight and eventually end up flying back into the trees in front of us. This all takes place around 10:00-10:30. What a day already!

We have mature in at 11:00 scatters all the gulls and ravens. Two mature head to the north while an immature goes to the east. They are all still in range but continue to soar around. Then back at the trees, we have action with musical trees again.

Finally at 12:00 a juvenile land on the ground for a quick instant. Then a mature and a two year fought on the ground back toward the tree line. Great action too busy to keep track of what is happening all around us.  Unfortunately it is so gloomy I not sure how good my shots will be. But once again it is just a privilege to be able to observe these magnificent creatures in the wild.

It is 30 degrees at 12:40 with five immature and two mature in the trees. A half an hour later another mature lands on the perching tree.

A rough leg is in the tall pine tree to the east. It then flew over to the maple tree behind us. At 1:30 everything flew! Eagles swooping everywhere . We have four immature and three mature. We lost one of the second years(whitey).  Our juvenile is banded on it’s left leg which means it is a Upper Peninsula eagle.
OK, the other whitey is back. We have eight in our sight. Wow! They all flew again. One of the immature tried for a piece of meat in front of us. We weren’t on it in time before they all flew back into the trees except  the two second years.  By 2:00 we had lost a mature to the east a third year and a juvenile.

They have definitely kept us on our toes today.  Something is moving all the time. The rough-leg hawk is back in the maple tree. Two second years, one juvenile and a mature took off and swooped behind us. One o the second year and a mature fought in mid air!! Sweet. They then headed across the road. A little later another mature headed across the road at 3:25.

At 4:30 the rough-leg flew onto the fence post. The one second year and a mature were still in the trees along with a juvenile. The mature try to get the juvenile to go after the rough-leg so she chased him off to the east. Interesting! The juvenile and the mature ended up in the big pine to the east. The rough-leg eventually headed into the swamp at 4:45. The sea gulls are leaving one by one.

A mature came back. There is still one second year to the east and a mature on the perching tree. One of the second years is on top of poplar tree and a second year in the east on near the big pine tree.

5:00 the juvenile pushed the mature off the perching tree and headed east. The mature sat on top of one of skinny pine trees to the east.

That was the day in a quick nutshell. Lots of great action. We had at least nine different eagles around most of the day. Sweet.