Ground Observations - 2015 - 2016 Season, when Dad mourned Mom

[boonibarb]

 
Okay, so thanks to Dawn & cali for calling me & letting me know that there was an Eagle in The Babysitting Tree today.
& the Eagle waited til i was free to go down there!
& then stayed some more!
Who IS this Eagle.
 
september 21 2015 17:20 - Eagle & Starling in The Babysitting Tree

Look at the beautiful Starling with the Eagle in these first few!
i almost missed the Starling, because i was focused on the Eagle.
 


Wanted to see the back of the head, first of all.
Definitely not Mum.
 

 


This Eagle has a very sweet face.
 


Doesn*t look like Dad or Em, to me.
 

 
link to my fotos page - 
 
https://www.flickr.com/photos/43214021@N08/

[boonibarb]

 
The Eagle was doing a lot of preening.
Look at the nice Bird house in the trunk just over the head.
 
september 21 2015 17:25 - Eagle in The Babysitting Tree
 


Beautiful bright yellow beak, & lovely white head & tail feathers on this one.
 


There seem to be some dark tail tips in there!
 

 


Something was catching the Eagle*s eye.
 

 
link to my fotos page -  
 
https://www.flickr.com/photos/43214021@N08/

[boonibarb]

 
september 21 2015 17:33 - Eagle in The Babysitting Tree
 


Not sure what was up there.
 

 

 


Another angle on back of head.
 

 

 
link to my fotos page -  
 
https://www.flickr.com/photos/43214021@N08/

[Donnae]

Thanks Booni.... I agree... that is one gorgeous eagle!!!!  So early to be back too.... but who it is .... I sure don't know.

[Cawatcher]

  Fabulous  love the Starling with it too

[sparkie]

So glad  they waited for you  booni . Gorgeous  pictures and great looking eagle 

[nan2945]

thanks so much, Booni.   fabulous pictures of this beauty.....

[Faerie Gardener]

Just Lovely

[winterwren]

Booni was there for part of the time and she'll have clearer photos, but here are a few shots I took of the eagle on the BST at mid-day today.

The process of editing the photos helped me find some distinguishing marks on this eagle. On the first picture we can see some tiny dark 'freckles' above the left eye. They're easy to dismiss as a trick of the light but they appear on most of my photos.

September 22, 12:09



12:21 A little preening. Above the left eye are two tiny dark feathers, or parts of feathers. One of them is visible here. Both are visible in some of the photos Booni took yesterday.




Better view of that one dark line above the eye here.



And both visible here.

[winterwren]

A little earlier, at 12:15, Booni was away to reset the cam when the eagle trilled!
I managed to start taking a video while this was going on, so I caught the very end of the call.

Click here to see the video.

[winterwren]

In the late afternoon I checked the cam and found out that an eagle was now on His-and-Hers Tree. My luck held. The eagle was invisible from the road but still present when I showed up a while later.
I was thinking this might be a different bird, but it turned out to be just the angle that made this one seem to have different proportions.

The two little dark pencil lines above the left eye are still there.
September 22, 5:03 pm

[winterwren]

I'm tiptoeing wide around the tree to see this eagle's back.
The light isn't great, but there seems to be a white neck feather with a dark tip that shows up under certain angles.

September 22, 5:05 pm



That dark-tipped neck feather sticks right out here. I don't know what's up with the feather sticking out front.
5:08

[jeavverhey]

Wow thank you Booni and Wrennie or those great photos and videos.  even better with your observations of details - I would not have noticed without them being pointed out for me. I am very much reminded of that young eagle with the huge honker that was hanging around dad early summer before Em . Sure looks right at home doesnt she?

[boodle317]

great shots booni and wren.  a mystery for sure. 

I love clicking on all your pics to make them large.  What detail!

[Cawatcher]

  wonderful, Thank you Wren these are great! what a exciting beginning