Eagle Count

After a week of counting eagles in the Southwest Florida it appears that the number of chicks will be down from last year. The count for Lee County is not complete but there seems from our vantage point that our county will be about the same. We observed  two large and old nests for eight years and every year they produce two chicks except one.

This morning Theresa and I went to see the nest where one chick was weeks late in hatching. The little one has taken wing and that is good. The second nest has two chicks which will be ready to go on their own by late April. This is the first year we saw such a difference in the time of hatching. We also read that this is not unusual and there can be quite a difference in hatching times even in the same nest.

We have one empty nest very close to us and we hope that the eagles will take up housekeeping there next year.

Two years ago Great Horned Owls took over an eagle nest and hatched two babies much to our delight. .The nest of doves which we watched for some twenty days was destroyed in a moment when the young we born. We never witnessed the event but Blue Jays were close by for several days. Nature took its cruel course and we were happy to be away when it happened.

Observing nature and loving the birds can be very rewarding and here in our area there is a wonderful opportunity to do just that.