Birds and Nature

Yesterday I found a pair of Golden Eagles on a new new site here in Fremont County. Though this pair may be the pair I have observed perched on hilltop about a mile from this nest site, I have never seen their nest site before. And this cliff nest site has previously been used by a pair of Red-tailed Hawks I have followed for some years. I believe it is unusual for Golden Eagles to take over a hawk nest site. It is also unusual for them to be sitting on eggs already. The Colo Breeding Bird Atlas I (only one I could find date info on at this time) showed Golden Eagles on nests from April on. And the Golden Eagles I have previously observed nesting in another part of Fremont County weren't on the nest before late March or early April. I got to observe the mail come in and relieve the female on the nest and a lot of neat eagle flying by the male and some by the female. In the pic above the eye of the eagle is just seen above the nesting material on the left side of the...

Also while I was counting birds for the Great Backyard Bird Count in Florence River Park I spotted two young Golden Eagles flying near each other overhead.  These young eagles are either juveniles or sub-adults (difficult to distinguish here) and they appeared to be practicing flying maneuvers they will need as adults as they flew circles around each other, sometimes coming quite close, as they might do during breeding or to engage a competitor. It has been a great year for viewing Golden Eagles in this area. My local wildlife officer hypothesized that the very good year for rabbits here has kept a number of Golden Eagles around. SeEtta

Since last week when I spotted at least 3 Golden Eagles flying together I have been seeing Golden Eagles all around eastern Fremont and Custer Counties. Day before yesterday I saw a likely juvenile flying high above Red Canyon Park north of Canon City. Today I saw an adult flying around the Wetmore area before I found this likely adult perched on a power pole. And just a little west of Wetmore I spotted this 2nd year (white at base of tail but no white spots on wings) Golden Eagle in flight. SeEtta

The third apparent Golden Eagle flew in directly at the subadult Golden Eagle. I jumped out of my car and starting shooting these photos showing the sequence of events. Almost immediately the two had their talons locked. Birds of North America (BNA) online notes that when a Golden Eagle is attacked "...often responds by rolling over and presenting talons to the aggressor." That may be what is seen in this first photo. I found another interesting note in BNA online that sounds a lot like what I observed: "However, 2 instances of talon-grappling in Montana both occurred near an eyrie after a “rushing attack” by an adult at an immature...." In the next several photos the eagles continue with the talons apparently locked together as they appear to battle each other. Now it was getting scary as the eagles had been tumbling together with talons locked. BNA states, "Rarely, lock talons and tumble through the air; sometimes fall several rev...

After the Red-tailed Hawk fight I found this immature Snow Goose (in Basic I plumage) with a small flock of Canada Geese at Holcim Wetlands in Fremont County. White geese are quite uncommon here. I also saw 3 Golden Eagles earlier this afternoon--a juvenile soaring then a pair of adults flying circling together (possibly courtship behavior). Very nice afternoon birding. SeEtta