Birds and Nature

"First baby hatched at 6:10am mst " There are two unhatched eggs in nest. I missed the hatching and haven't seen the nestling yet either--hit and miss when you look in, parent may be covering the young hatchling. Here is the captured video of the hatching (how cool, dad flew in to see it!) SeEtta

"Decorah Eagles @ Ustream.TV: First hatch is imminent. It could occur anytime today"

This afternoon I opened the live streaming video to see the camera zoomed in to get a super close up of this eagles feathers. A little later the eagle got up and turned her eggs while the camera was zoomed in on the 3 eggs. I just pop in every now and then to see what she is doing, a great way to see how an eagle on the nest spends her time. The group that brings us this live streaming video, Raptor Research Project, has some a nice video clip they captured yesterday of the eagles tongue with the camera zoomed way in super up close. See it on this Raptor Research Project Update link as well as other information. Please consider giving them a donation (they are providing us with this entertainment as well as great conservation work so future generations can enjoy raptors too)--there is a donation link on this page . Please don't forget to shut the video off when you are not watching--let's don't waste bandwidth. There are usually thousands, some times tens of thou

Wow, just checked the Bald Eagle on nest (10 pm MST) and she has her head tucked in to feathers on her back like a swan or something. Amazing to see what eagles on nest do during day but even more astounding at night. SeEtta

I dropped in this evening to see if it was on and was pleasantly surprised that it appears to have infra-red viewing so it is on at night. Though it was around 9 pm in Iowa where the nest located, I caught the end of the bird feeding. She turned the eggs and then herself around in the nest so she was facing the camera and then she rested. She appeared to doze though didn't appear fully asleep during the few minutes I watched. So there is activity at night in a Bald Eagle's nest. And now we can see how a large raptor sleeps. SeEtta Post note: Later this evening I dropped in and she was laying down in the nest and appeared to be sound asleep. BTW-please don't leave the live streaming video on as this takes bandwidth as there are thousands of viewers watching at various times. SeEtta

3-30-11-Move video to right side of page so it will stay on top This is a very good quality and close up live streaming video of a Bald Eagle on her nest in Iowa courtesy of the Raptor Research Project. Even cooler is that they estimate eggs will begin hatching on April 1. Be aware that when you click on the arrow it may take you to the Raptor Research Project page but this is cool as the video screen is larger than it would be here--also you can open as a full page video viewer with very good quality by clicking on the box in lower right hand corner of viewer. (Only catch is you have to put up with some advertisements, obviously to support this expensive venture, though the google ads can be deleted by clicking on the 'x' to the right and above the ad). Post Note 3/29--later yesterday I saw a rabbit this eagles mate apparently had brought for her to eat and today I see it still in the nest, by the end of it's tail, uneaten. SeEtta

Greater Scaup are quite uncommon in the Canon City, CO area so I was pleased to find this female 2 days ago swimming in the Arkansas River adjacent to my friend's property. I seldom see these close enough to get a reasonable pic so was pleased to get this opportunity. I like the pic at the top as that angle shows off the very large size bill on this species. SeEtta

Yellow-rumped Warblers started migrating through Canon City yesterday and many of them had not completed molting into their breeding (Alternate) plumage as shown in these pics. Today there was an influx of these Yellow-rumps along the Canon City Riverwalk and I heard their 'chip' calls all along the trail. SeEtta

I found a small flock of Cassin's Finch including this female on the Canon City Riverwalk yesterday. Their distinctive call got my attention. I haven't seen any in the area all winter so may they are just passing through on their way back to higher elevation where they breed. SeEtta

I have enlarge these pics some so it may possible to see the brown fore crown without clicking on them though the brown will show more if super enlarged. Since this pair is feeding near a long-time nesting area under the footbridge, I am hopeful they will nest here. SeEtta

These are pics of a brown-fronted hybrid BlackXEastern Phoebe that has been feeding near a long-time phoebe nesting area on my friend's property near Canon City,CO. Last year there was a brown-fronted hybrid feeding in the area and I expect this is the same bird as this is an unusual plumage (certainly the first I have seen among the many hybrid BlackXEastern Phoebes that are found in my area). Two days ago I saw 2 Black-like Phoebes(difficult to discern hybrids without good views) engage in a fierce battle, rolling in the air as they battled and not stopping until after they hit the ground. I was frankly surprised that one wasn't left injured on the ground but both were gone when I looked. I expect that one was trying to chase the other from this prime feeding and nesting area. The next day two Black-looking Phoebes, behaving amicably as a pair, began feeding near each other (usually 20-30 feet apart but sometimes within a foot or two of each other). You may need to doub