Tuesday, May 05, 2015

Brick Eagles

Now that I've spent time outside of the City for a couple of years, its clear that much of what I learned from watching hawks and falcons also applies to other raptors such as eagles and owls. One difference though is that the eagles and owls nest much earlier...about 6 weeks by my count. So while hawk watchers await the hatch of another round of urban raptors, here we await the fledges. I caught up with the venerable pair of Bald Eagles atop a cell tower in Brick, NJ. Standing guard much like their city cousins, they also presented fresh fish and tried to lure the youngsters out. It'll be great fun watching these guys over the next weeks!

3 comments:

Rob Jett said...

Brilliant pics! Thanks. Wonder if all that microwave radiation has any effect of the eagles. BTW - Did you abandon NYC?

Rob

yojimbot said...

Thanks, I wouldnt say abandoned is the right word. I still get to the City 1 day a week for work but I've definitely spread my wings!

Jeff K said...

Fantastic pictures as usual. The Riverside Church peregrines have three fledges that look like male, female and male. The third is somewhat behind his siblings and is tended to by the adult male ("Henry") in a sort of falcon boot camp. The first two easily land on the antenna but the third is still trying to nail that pinpoint landing. They spend time on the Interchurch Center, a nice broad landing strip. Around 7:30 PM these days the adult female ("Solange") comes back from the hunt, usually with the two older fledges, and Henry takes off for his dinner. Lots of screeching from the youngsters, lots of gorgeous air play, diving and rolling. Sometimes there are three falcons in a line above the church, a foot apart like the Blue Angels. Amazing scene!