I told myself to go out for the sunrise. I had finished the coffee, caught up with Facebook, and there was still time to head out. I had seen stars out there when I let the dogs out, so it wasn’t overcast. But as I made my first turn I spotted the moon, big and round but very low in the sky, with wispy clouds over the face. Now I had a different plan, skipped the turn to Bayport and headed for Hammonds Creek bridge, simply because it was closer. I felt like I was racing to get there before the moment had passed. And I thought it had because I hadn’t seen the moon again, so I made the turn to Jenkin’s Creek, just a little further. And in the last stretch of road I saw the moon again, just as it sank into the low clouds. They talk about lost opportunities at work, but they are talking about sales of products, but these are the lost opportunities that drive me nuts.
The colors of the sky were pretty, but the sunrise would have been prettier at either of my other options this morning, and I was mad at myself. And then I noticed two shapes in the dead tree across the inlet. I didn’t even hurry, sure they would turn out to be vultures. It wasn’t until I moved the car across the parking lot, set up the tripod, and finally looked through the zoom lens that I saw they were eagles. I took pictures as they looked left, then right, in unison, and just as I was about to leave I thought I saw one ‘defecate’. That was the polite term that Jeff, guru of the photo group, used when he said that you must know bird behavior. They lighten the load just before they fly, he said. So I backed the zoom off a little bit to give myself some room, and off he took! 
I’ll be looking for that moon tomorrow…
But still the eagles were on my mind. I saw the one in the dead tree when I first got to the nest, and the other one when I stopped on my way home. So they are still in the vicinity of the nest, a nest of very long standing. I spoke to my eagle watching friends and there is speculation that the eagles may mate again and lay more eggs this season. I hope so, at least I think I hope so. It’s hard not to get too attached.
Back home the Sandhill Cranes continue to tease us. They are on the lake daily, on the old nest and also visiting the new nest they built. They don’t spend the night, or I don’t think that they do. So whether or not there will be new babies on the lake is still an unknown.
I counted on the sunset for a Day 7 of the 10 day photo challenge, but it was too overcast. Sunsets are funny that way. Which left me with only one solution.
The images of them being fed are the most frustrating to get. In person you can see what’s going on. The parent shreds a morsel from whatever unfortunate creature has found itself as dinner, and then turns it’s head and the eaglet takes the morsel from it’s beak. I’m not sure I’d have imagined that activity from a still photograph. And I’m finding myself making the same assumptions that I did last year over the Sandhill cranes. One baby seemed more adventurous and the other more quiet and subdued. That’s how I’m seeing the eaglets, one is easy to spot, but the other doesn’t seem to lift it’s head up to check out the world nearly as often. Patience is a virtue, especially for a nature photographer, or so it seems to me…
The dogs and I found this visitor out on the lake when we got home from our walk…
A Wood Stork! It wasn’t so long ago that I saw my first one in person at Jenkin’s Creek, which isn’t all that far away, but I’ve never seen one out back before. So even though I wanted to go check on the eagles again I stopped to take his picture first. 
Finally, I was at the eagle’s nest, and the misty rain had cleared, and nothing was going on. There was one eagle only, guarding the nest from the branch above. I did notice a lot of vultures in the immediate area and they seemed to be concentrating on the nest. I saw her calling, but her mate didn’t come right away. She stood her ground at that point, but did chase off one vulture a bit later. When she came back she landed on the nest and was tending it again.
You can see a bit of a vulture flying over in this picture. I don’t know if that bird is what inspired the eagle to take off and give chase, but it was amazing to watch them swoop, and reverse direction at top speed. They disappeared behind the trees, and the eagle was still in pursuit when they reappeared. I tried to catch the chase in pictures but it was impossible. 
When she returned she landed on the nest. She was still scanning the sky, but also looking down into the nest, at her chick maybe? While she was gone I concentrated on looking at the nest in case I might spot a little head pop up to look for Mom, but that didn’t happen. 
Her mate did come back, I saw him flying in and zoomed onto the nest thinking that he’d land there, but I was surprised to see Mom take off and both of the eagles were now in pursuit of at least two vultures. Again, amazing to see but not so easy to photograph. When I left there was one eagle on the nest and one in the trees nearby. Keeping watch, defending the nest.