The eagles are on thier nests!....almost

Took some time this weekend to see how some of the local eagles nests are faring. Pretty surprised to see how many are likely on eggs already or will be in the next few days. Seems like a week to ten days (at least) early to me. Hopefully our alleged big snow storm this week isn't too big of an inconvenience to them.




The models have had some issues with the last couple of systems so we'll see if this one pans out or not. We need the moisture going in to spring.

Anyhow, here are 8 nests I checked. All are within a 25 mile radius of my home. None are outside of the county I live in.



Nest #1...hit (taken Saturday the 24th).



Nest #2...hit (taken Sunday the 25 as were the rest).



Nest #3...hit. Hard to see but if you look in the middle along the top of the nest, you can see the white of the head.



Nest #4...look to the left along the top of the nest and you can make out the silhouette of the head. Hard to shoot against the morning sun. This was one of the first nests I started checking on years ago.



Nest #5...miss. I think. This nest is hard to see into also but I didn't see any activity around the nest either. This pair is notorious for getting a late start and raising triplets the past 3 or 4 years.



Trumpeter swans. I swear I didn't photoshop out the leg of the one on the far right.



Nest #6...hit. The watchful eye of a parent. This was a brand new nest in 2011 so I'm happy to see they came back this year.



Nest #7...hit. This nest is a HUGE nest. One of the largest I've ever seen. This pair never leaves even in the dead of winter. They are real Minnesota-tough eagles.



Anyone need a turkey?



Nest #8...miss. This nest I'm a little worried about as this pair usually stays for the winter but I haven't seen them in about a month. They are usually early nesters but no sign of them. I hope they just decided to hold off a little this year and didn't abandon the nest (or worse). Some of my favorite eagle photo memories are from this pair as well as providing some good entertainment while out fishing with the kids.



I would also like to mention ALL of these photos are taken from my vehicle. I get asked a lot of times how I get my shots and quite honestly a 500mm lens and the concealment of a car will do wonders. The birds are used to seeing vehicles and do not see them as a threat. However, the minute you step out of the vehicle you become a threat and stress the birds. Do the right thing and stay in your vehicle if you are going to be out and about. After all, it's only a picture and there will always be another opportunity on your next outing.

Hopefully next week I'll have some big time snowstorm pics to share!