Oh wow, exciting stuff - 2 young, robust looking (not) eagles are parked outside!

[lisa c]

I don’t know if they’re playing, hunting or shopping for real estate, but it’s exciting to see them up close. I saw the first one 2 months ago. The interplay was dramatic - this is all so cool! First a small blue bird dove across my vision. Next, 3 huge crows flew to the tree, screaming, one at a time, and took up stations on branches, triangulating the small (not)eagle. Over a half hour, each crow moved closer to the (not)eagle, and just sat.

Silent menace? or just being sentries, idk. Eventually the small (not)eagle moved down to another tree, to a nest remnant from last year. At least, I thought it was a remnant, but the raucous vocalizing became non-stop, and the crowd formed a tighter triangle.

I was too late with my camera the first time to get a full frontal, but the (not)eagle was gorgeous, the creamy belly was so clean looking against it’s darker feathers, it looked brilliant.

Today is the first time I’ve seen 2 (not)eagles so close. Do they shop for a nest site together? I think it’s too low down here for a (not)eagles nest, the trees are only 5 stories, and too close to buildings...but this is fun! I hope they keep stopping through.

(Not)Eagle 1, today Jan 10, 2021, right in the center of the photo
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(Not)Eagle 2, today Jan 10, 2021
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[lisa c]

I won’t bore everyone to tears with bird posts, but I’ve never bird-watched, and it’s very exciting! seeing 3 different kinds of birds working together was cool. I didn’t know so many birds Wintered over, either. The pictures of the first event were I think too blurry to try to post,
3D4625CA-3713-4DB5-B12B-BD36F34E55F3.jpegand I wasn’t fast enough to get the beak in profile. Oh well. This photo was December 7th.

but the blue bird was strong blue with a triangular feather arrangement on its head, and it streaked past my window sleek and fast like a jet. The (not)eagle just sat, seemed very unperturbed, definitely apex. Little birds were darting around the (not)eagle, then dispersed when the big black crows flew in one by one, and took up position.

Spring will be amazing, if they keep coming back.

[Charlotta]

That’s so cool. I have never seen an eagle. We have some in sweden, but not that many I think. I saw some other hunting bird once, a falcon perhaps, in one of our apple trees.

[lisa c]

We have several nests around Pittsburgh with tagged eagles. I don’t know if these are tagged. Usually I see them from a far distance only. It’s always exciting when a rapid storm front is coming through, because they come out and play in the updrafts.

I’ve never in my whole life seen one this close (***and apparently still haven’t, lol***), let alone 2! I’m super excited, and happy to be so privileged. Once Spring is here in full, and people come out with their yard work and construction machines, they’ll probably not come this close. I’m enjoying it fully, for now.

[lisa c]

Charlotta, thank you for reading this! Does your camp have steep hills and tall trees? Now I’m thrilled to be researching Sweden, checking for terrain and eagles and percentage of wilderness. Maybe someday I’ll visit my son in Finland and we’ll go on a driving tour! That’d be really exciting for me, he and his wife live in Hameenlinna. Very cool!

[CortezPearls]

Very nice! It is nice to see Eagles making a comeback
A friend of mine, tour guide & nature photographer from Chihuahua, has been photographing Bald Eagles in that part of Mexico recently. Great photos too.

[lisa c]

I’m sure your friend’s photos are magnificent, unlike mine! Are you allowed to share a name?

My friend John told me today that I might’ve been seeing American eagles, not bald eagles, so I need to google them. I get so wrapped up watching the action (however still the big birds are, when they move they move!) that I miss the photos.

[lisa c]

Nope, I didn’t see any pictures of eagles like what I’m seeing.

I think it’s a honking big juvenile red tailed hawk! It’s got the creamy white chest from right under the yellow bill, and not huge talons, and an intricate brown and cream pattern on the back. Time and more sightings will tell.
But if it’s one of the hawks from down below my building, why are the crows and the blue birds screaming and triangulating only now? Why not before? What a glorious world full of research to do!
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This photo is from Wikipedia.

[pattye]

What a fun adventure, Lisa; please keep sharing! We have a large variety of birds here on the West Coast, but the ones that come through my yard never sit still long enough to be id'ed either! A few years back a hawk tried to carry off my 12lb Chihuahua Granddog! The bird dropped him, but Carlos had severe puncture wounds on his rib cage that he had to recover from.

[Charlotta]

Lisa c, there aren't any steep hills at home. But we live next to a forest. I often se hunting birds, probably falcons when I drive to work and once in our apple tree. At the summercabin however lots of mountains and such. Some trees but not that many since the summercabin is in a part of sweden known for it's mostly rocky terrain with the occasional lush patches in sheltered spots. So mostly rocks and heather. Some thinks it's to harsh but I think it's beautiful. Not-husband says there are some eagles, he thinks, not into birds that one. I see if I can find a photo of the terrain close to the summercabin to insert.
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I did find some photos of some islands that I took recently. The summercabin is near the sea

[CortezPearls]

I’m sure your friend’s photos are magnificent, unlike mine! Are you allowed to share a name?

My friend John told me today that I might’ve been seeing American eagles, not bald eagles, so I need to google them. I get so wrapped up watching the action (however still the big birds are, when they move they move!) that I miss the photos.

Sure! His name is Manuel Jurado and he has a great Instagram account
trenybarrancas
He does not have photos of these there...the photos were taken quite away!
He posts most of his bird photos in a closed group in Facebook, just for bird photographers. And this other photographer Jaime Robles has just posted this photo of the same eagles in the same place:
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[multichrome]

lisac, they are wonderful and not boring. Thank you for sharing. Those hawks are beautimous. If you go to Cornell’s All About Birds website you can nerd out on birds to your heart’s content. Also a Peterson’s guide is so nice to have. I was just getting into recognizing and watching birds early last year, and had bought myself the guide and some decentish binoculars before we all had to stay home. The birds got us through spring, no kidding! A pair of Carolina wrens nested high up in an semi-protected space on our porch, and watching Mom and Dad do the Baby Wren Food Airlift many times an hour was wonderful. We hope they’ll come back this spring.

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[Pearl Dreams]

I love Red Tailed Hawks! There is a large hawk that occasionally sits atop a telephone pole at the back of your yard, near our shed. We saw him a few days ago, surveying the area; he sat there for a good 20 minutes.
Last week a young hawk sat on the frame for our Coleman canopy (the canopy having been removed for winter.)

[jeg]

That IS exciting Lisa! Happy bird watching to you! We don’t have as many bald eagles here as on the other side of the state. When they’re around, everyone has to keep their small pets out of sight. More hawks around here, and the crows like to harass them in flight.

[lisa c]

Thank you all for reading and commenting! I’m eagerly awaiting the next sighting. I’m fairly sure they’re hawks now, and I’m so struck by their gorgeous creamy bellies and elaborate patterns that it’s going to feel like an eternity until I see them again. The difference between photographs and sightings is just like with pearls. The light shimmers around the real life feathers, just like with pearls. Stunning.

Thank you for posting all of your photographs, what an honor to see them. You all lighten the world!