Baby eagle and nothing on the chase horizon

Well, I had to take advantage of this totally NON TYPICAL Minnesota July afternoon. 66/48 and a nice breeze to keep whatever few bugs are out away so I headed out to check one of the eagle nests I have not been to for almost two months. This nest had a pair of eaglets but as what usually happens, only one appears to have survived.



I haven't picked a name for this little guy (or girl) yet but it sure looks healthy and was very curious as to what I was doing tromping around in the grass a ways away.









The next picture:



is last year's baby from this same nest and it without a doubt a female as she is HUGE.



This is her last year. What is funny about this eagle family is they really don't move too far even in the winter as the Mississippi River just to the north stays open all year so they can find fish to eat.

The only thing more depressing than my water bill (being we are over 7" down on precip for the year now) is the GFS. Nothing on the horizon which catches my eye for a real chase day. Usually by now we head into the pattern of nocturnal storms which my dad used to call "ridge runners" as they would ride over the dome of warm air over the central Dakotas. These storms would dive off to the southeast and would sometimes provide good chase opportunities up in the northwestern corner of the state. Not in 2009. Maybe August will be good....but I said that in April about May, in May about June, in June...you get the picture.