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Borrego Springs, CA

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Holy bald eagle, Batman!

I headed out this morning to do my weekly survey on seven specific areas of the refuge.  Each of the survey plots is basically a semi-circle with a radius of 300 meters.  That means I can’t count any water birds that may be nearby, but not within the designated perimeters.  That can be frustrating to me at times since, like today, about 10,000 snow geese were just outside my count area.  In previous weeks, these huge flocks chose areas within my boundaries, but not today.  Instead, the count areas seemed to be inundated with immature bald eagles!  I’ll get to what that means in a minute.

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Three of the count plots are in closed areas that are not open to the public.  These areas are closed so that the wintering water birds have very few disturbances, and can build their reserves up for their arduous migration north for breeding.  As I unlocked the gate to get into this area, a little savannah sparrow was busy foraging for something to eat right in front of me.  I couldn’t pass up the chance to get its picture.

As I made my way down the one lane gravel road to my first stop, I had to wade through several bunches of cows feeding in the marsh and giving the road a new fertilizer treatment.  Smile with tongue out  When I got to my survey location, there didn’t seem to be as many birds around as usual.  That’s when I noticed three young bald eagles perched or flying over the area.  The perched eagles could only be seen through the scope.

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I tried to get a few pics of the eagles that were on the wing.  Not very good photos, but it is what it is. 

I counted what I could, and proceeded on to my second count area.  It, too, had less ducks and such than normal.  As I scanned through the scope that I attach to the driver’s side window, I spotted a small hummock in the marsh that had six bald eagles on it!  Dang!  I’m always thrilled to see bald eagles, but give me a break!  With that many eagles around, it was no wonder that many of the ducks, shorebirds, and egrets had made themselves scarce.

Bald eagles generally prefer to eat fish, but they aren’t above taking advantage of waterfowl resources, and carrion.  Since all of these eagles were young and under the age of four or five, they too need to do what they need to do to survive.  I just wished they had chosen an area other than the ones I was surveying.

In the last week or two, I’ve noticed quite a few snow goose carcasses in this area.  What’s the cause for that?  My guess is that it is the result of many things… old age, disease, wounded birds from the hunt, and perhaps the unusual ice storms that we’ve had lately have taken their toll.  Coyotes also take their share, but they generally eat what they kill.  If you are a young eagle trying to get through the winter, eating dead snow geese will certainly help you survive.  It just doesn’t help me count waterfowl in an area.

IMG_5884In general, I’m noticing an overall decrease in waterfowl numbers from their peaks in December.  It’s that time of the year.  Could it be that ducks get ‘hitch itch’ too?  Or maybe with our nasty weather, they’ve headed further south.  Only time will tell.  Found this handsome brown pelican looking for a bite to eat in Oyster bayou today on the edge of one of my count areas.  I really liked its ‘Mohawk’.

Tomorrow I’m off for my second physical therapy workout this week in the town of Anahuac.  Some of the exercises are a challenge, but most of my shoulder pain is gone.  I’m hopeful I can avoid surgery.

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                                                                               THE END!!

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

22 comments:

  1. Loved the pelican photo - a handsome guy indeed! It's always a thrill to see bald eagles, even if they are messing with the bird count lol!

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  2. Judy, that PT will surely help...It did soooo help my broken arm...Love the Bald Eagles...and I do believe the birding might be different because of the unusual cold weather..But...then...I am just a "grasshopper" ..still learning from the Sage of Birdland!!!

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  3. Glad PT is helping the shoulder!!! I've seen eagles pull coots right out of the water when they're hungry. Love today's 'the end'!!!

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  4. Good luck with your physical therapy, and I'm glad it's helping. I hope what you are seeing with the birds is just a fluke and not a look at the future. Things seem to be changing everywhere, and we need to pay attention to what's happening in the natural world around us.

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  5. Great shot of the pelican. I hope your physical therapy appointment goes well. :-)

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  6. What a magnificent pelican...beautiful pale yellow face. But I just have to say, my favorite is the sparrow! What a cutie!
    Hope the PT goes well tomorrow! Hugs to Emma!

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  7. Judy, I am thrilled the P.T. Is helping ......hope it continues !!!!!

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  8. Do you get to include remarks about special circumstances on your bird count? I imagine they would help to explain unexpected increases/decreases in the counts.

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  9. Really glad that you are getting some relief with the PT. The real challenge will be keeping up with the exercises when no one is cracking the whip.

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  10. It's a tie today... my favorites are the pelican with the mohawk and the sparrow's cute little butt. Hope the PT does the job for you!

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  11. Glad the PT is helping. Great shot of the pelican.

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  12. I think if I was one of those birds, I would be on the move down towards Padre Island, or some other point farther South.:-) Good pics as usual. Therapy beats surgery every time, if it's working. The cardinal with the bad hair has been around for days, and is back, this morning. Thinking he may have some deformity that causes his feathers to look that way.

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  13. The pelican photo is beautiful. Do you have arthritis in the shoulder or was it an injury? Just curious.

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  14. Great pics, as usual. The PT usually does help you just have to be patient and keep at it.

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  15. Thanks for the lesson in bald eagle diets. At least the dead geese will help others survive and won't go to waste.

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  16. I'm always amazed at the places Pelicans turn up. Thanks for the interesting info on Eagles.

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  17. The Mohawk sported by the pelican is indeed a beautiful addition to his or her attractivness! So interesting to hear about the eagle effect on the bird survey! Great Savanah sparrow picture!

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  18. Glad to hear the PT is helping you. No pain is a great thing. Birds seemed down in Flamingo too. An unusual amount of rain there so perhaps they don't have to gather as much as in the past. Your pelican is simply grand and so is your little sparrow, both ends!

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  19. I'm so glad your shoulder is feeling better. I like the Mohawk, too. I think Pelicans are one of my favorite birds, especially when they are flying in formation. :)

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  20. Great photos and informative as usual.

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  21. Nice post.Thanks for sharing this in your blog

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