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Greetings to everyone! Most of you folks know that I have been away this past week and am finally getting caught-up on the events at the nest. A week ago, I was told that LittleEagle and one of his Eaglet siblings were observed splashing together in a large tub (bathtub) that was in a local backyard... I sure wish I could have seen those 2 kids together, enjoying this ! During the past week, many people saw LittleEagle foraging on the beach and in various backyards, but the once crowded street where the nestis located has become a much quieter place (thankfully for many of the residents) because of the lack of sightings. Thank you to all the accepting and patient residents of this little neighbourhood in Sidney. I received a note this morning from David Hancock who said that LittleEagle has not been seen since Friday (July 28th) No doubt he is exploring further afield and getting on with his life . I will certainly update you as soon as more news becomes available... Thanks to everyone for stopping in... I do enjoy the emails and Disqus comments... Cheers from North Saanich, TerryV  I went out for a walk around Shoal Harbour this morning and watched for over 3 hours. Saw the above adult Eagle and heard another... Once I thought I had heard LittleEagle, but it was a short call. One of the regulars at the nest also heard the little Hawk yesterday, but no sightings. Interestingly all 3 Eaglets have also wandered off and none have been spotted since Friday... Perhaps all 4 are off on some local adventure??? I'll be back there again tomorrow and make certain to post any info that come my way right here on the blog! Have a great evening... TerryV  A kingfisher hunts for a fish breakfast
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 A hungry fishing camp visitor Greetings to everyone... Back home this evening and tired from the long trip home, but I promise LittleEagle updates tomorrow! I do hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful Summer weather! All the best.... TerryV  Adult Eagle sits atop a man made rock structure and watches for breakfast!  Miles from nowhere, this Eagle relaxes in the morning sunshine!  A happy pair of West Cast salmon anglers boat a Chinook salmon!    Hard to believe, but after 5 full weeks of nestside reporting , I am going to take a break and go out to the West Coast fishing! I am nervous about what LittleEagle will do in my absence, however I am confident Nature will take the best course. I feel very positive about LittleEagle, his ability to thrive and survive! Thanks to everyone for the great stream of comments, both here and on FB as I followed the activities of the nest in Sidney... All are very very appreciated! I will see you in a few days and report back on the nest ..... All the very best.... TerryV  LittleEagle seen here foraging at low tide just like his sibling Eaglets  ! whooo-hooo Beach time !   LittleEagle's Mom greets the morning , sitting on her golden throne!  Good Morning to everyone! As an aspiting wildlife photographer, I am constantly in awe of the natural world and wild places.... Even if my subjects are in the back yard, these creatures are wild, free of human needs and always surprise me. This morning I photographed a Kingfisher, Blue Herons, our favourite Eagle family, and a pack of River Otters. The Otters were foraging and catching multitudes of fish in a morning community hunt. I have never seen such a gathering! LittleEagle was heard but not seen.. however I did hear that our favourite RT Hawk is wandering farther and farther afield these days...    Hero of the Day... LittleEagle!
What happened this afternoon, you might ask... I missed the action, but 2 local residents hear a blood curdling Eagle scream just after Noon today and rushed outside to see what had happened. It seems a pair of interloping Eagles had dropped down from the skies with intention to fly into our Sidney Eagle family's air space but was met promptly by the parent pair of Eagles. I am told that 3 separate attacks were made and during this time the young Eaglets came into the nest and surrounding trees absolutely terrified and stayed down shrieking. Meanwhile as Mom and Dad were defending the nest against this attack, LittleEagle came flying out of one of his usual haunts and prepared to help in the defence. He flew fast and furious with talons extended in full attack mode. Fortunately the parent Eagles were able to repel the intruders with no casualties and littleEagle did not have to test his weaponry. This little (Big) Eagle will go down in history as having one of the greatest Eagle Spirits ... Despite this extreme bravery, just after I shot this photo of him circling overhead in a victory lap, 2 crows appeared out of nowhere and forced him into the thicker trees... sigh.. Dang Crows! Ohh the horror! Have you ever seen Alfred Hitchcock's movie called "The Birds" well, LittleEagle lives this nightmare each day... Normally Crows are the bane of his existence but this evening the attack birds were Robins, flying around him and squawking noisily... pesky little songbirds! :) I can tell you that LittleEagle is unnerved by these constant bird attacks, but .. He has discovered a defence which is ... Find a tight place to sit within the trees. A small crowd of LittleEagle well wishers observed him tonight in such a spot for more than an hour. (poor light for photography, but we tried) Back at the nest.. things were the quietest I have ever seen.. Not an Eagle , nor Eaglet in sight... Until nearly 9:30 when most reasonably same observers had gone home. I was just packing up when I heard a loud, excited Eaglet cry which signalled a parent nearby. One Eaglet came zooming into the Nest Tree , then another flew over and landed nearby. I think an adult Eagle had just landed in the nest and then left... tough to see in the dimming light, but the kids were hungry and something made them fly in. Too dark for photos but for anyone who asked this evening if the adults still came to the nest .. yes they do, but it's getting to be less and less frequent. I did manage to click a few photos, so will post them asap! .. Have a great week & thanks for coming to my blog ........ cheer's TerryV PS.. A giant thank you for the kind folks coming in the evenings to say hello and helping me by buying a card or two!!! This is so appreciated*  Watching for "attack Robins"   Eaglet .. coming or going??    This is the uncropped full frame.. Sometimes the subjects are too close! :)  This is the youngest Eaglet .. contemplating a flight.. A bit later he did make a short one (First time I saw him actually fly to another tree) We believe this lighter coloured , smaller Eaglet is a male. The other 2 Eaglets are quite likely females...  One of the 3 Eaglets relaxes in the early Monday morning sunlight   LittleEagle looking sporty on a Monday morning!!! Click "PLAY" to view above sequence as a slide show... Early morning antics of the oldest 2 Eaglets under the watchful eye of Mom in the background.  What a simply gorgeous Sunday morning here on the Saanich Peninsula. For me a short drive to "the nest" under slightly clouded skies meant a good chance to see some colours in the sky at 6AM (well after sunrise) I wandered the beach and photographed some landscapes, young eagles and observed many of the usual species, like mobs of Canada Geese, Pacific Crows, Blue Herons, Pelagic Cormorants and several Annas Hummingbirds! Also spotted a couple of paddle boarders heading East..      Greetings to everyone and a special Hello to Mr Spooner on his Birthday!!!! Just back from my usual haunt and though I never spotted "LittleEagle" there were a few other highlights today. Another picture perfect Summer day here on the Peninsula and the Eagle Family was quite active. I photographed a food drop by one of the adults , many shots of various Eaglets sitting in the surrounding trees and watched, Blue Herons, Osprey , Turkey Vultures and even a Peregrine Falcon flypast. Photos coming up ASAP! Have a great weekend to everyone and safe travels to my friends from Oregon! Cheer's Terry :)  Momma Eagle flies in with a breakfast snack  1 of the older Eaglets flew over and had breakfast in the nest  YaaaHooo .. Breakfast!!!  The Eaglet dines and Mom takes a breather  Why is everyone else flying? Someone has to guard the nest!!!  Last Eaglet to fledge ,,, Nest Guardian  "Eaglet Fingers"  Evening Eaglet balances on a branch  LittleEagle settles in for the night  July 13th AM LittleEagle in a Gary Oak tree scopes out the scene below!  Last of the 3 Eaglets to fledge.. This one sure looked like today might be the day!  One of the fledged Eaglets... Rooftop View!  This is the Eaglet pictured above sitting on a Familiar perch near the nest Good evening to everyone from "the Nest" in Sidney, BC This afternoon, just before my 2nd radio interview with Pamela McColl on CFAX 1070 , it hit! What hit, you ask? ... Well the fact that from here on, life at and around the nest will be quite different. When I arrived around 12:30 PM, I could not see the remaining Eaglet but later realized the last one to fledge is still just branching around the nest. I have to say, the hit for me was an empty feeling to realize that some visits in the future will be very pale in comparison to the past 4 weeks of daily visits. (Today is week 4 to the day for my documenting this amazing quirk of Nature) And this is the first day I did not actually see LittleEagle, though I did hear the little creature from 2 locations around 3:30 PM after an Adult Eagle arrived nearby. There were also several flights around the nest by the 2 juvenile Eagles and its amazing to watch them gracefully glide past overhead and make pretty decent landings in the treetops. I will be back at the Nest again in the morning , as David Hancock and Christian Sasse are reportedly going to be on location. It will be interesting to hear Davids thoughts on what is the next likely scenario for LittleEagle. I will be adding a few images shortly from today... Hope you enjoy them... All the very best to you and a special thanks to Pameal McColl for sharing the airwaves today with LittleEagle.... TerryV On my way home from Sidney this afternoon, I saw an adult RedTailed Hawk , stopped my vehicle and managed a couple of images in the bright light. I'm guessing from the size, this is a mature RedTail female... These are quite large cropped photos, as she didn't allow me to get too near. (Could this beautiful bird be LittleEagles Mom???)    Good Morning, nest watchers! Pamela McColl has asked me to do an update today live from the nest of LittleEagle. Time will be at 1:45 Pacific. For the latest news go to CFAX 1070 Victoria BC ... And Welcome to Kelowna listeners today. Best wishes to everyone affected by the BC interior wildfires.... Lets hope for some rain with no lightning.  Another picture perfect Summer day here on the Peninsula, and life seems good at the nest... I think. The big news of today is that Eaglet 2 has fledged... Yes, sometime today, because when I arrived just past 7PM only 1 eaglet remained in the nest... the other 2 were making short flights all evening! 600 or so photos later and a short video will keep me up late once again sorting through the hi-lights. I did see LittleEagle, and photographed him in a couple of spots and once being chased by a crow... Not sure how those turned out, but if its too late tonight, please have a look and I'll have a selection posted. LittleEagle was tucked in to a nice perch across the road from the nest when darkness fell. I do believe he has spent the night out of the nest ever since fledging on June 23.  Eagles ongoing crow problems!    Papa Eagle watches out over his brood in the evening light...  Next Eaglet that will fledge.. Will it be tomorrow??? Happy Monday to everyone!!! Sorry for my bit of a lull in reporting on the LittleEagle events last couple of days... Back on track today and trying to multitask (yeah.. pretty much impossible for me) however... I did spend a couple quality hours at the nest this evening. The faithful league of LittleEagle watchers were all out in force and continue their nestside curiosity daily. While I was shooting photos this evening at least 20 people chatted on the street and talked of the days events. I understand Global TV was there once again shooting video of the nest.. I do hope the little fellow made an appearance, but not certain. He was rather elusive this evening, but I was comforted in hearing from a dear person that lives nearby and closely observes of how he had several good meals during the afternoon. Mom came in with fresh food offerings and 2 of the 3 Eaglets were out on far limbs, practicing their aerial manoeuvres, so he basically had the food all to himself!  Young Eaglet number 1 takes an evening flight  Today was spent off Island and a very enjoyable afternoon visiting David Hancock and his fans at Davids home! It was a special treat to be there... Thank you, Karen for making this possible!!! The African Crowned Crane is one of the inhabitants of Davids Wildlife refuge... An oasis for birds and bird enthusiasts. A wonderful variety of snacks were set out for the small crowd of invited guests to enjoy! There was also a silent auction with a number of lovely items for people to bid, including a special piece that I shot and printed of LittleEagle and siblings.... Christian and his lovely wife were busy streaming the auction online and getting bids for the foundation from around the world... Way to go!!! Hope that one raised some funds for the Hancock Wildlife Foundation!!! The day was a beauty .. warm, calm and just a touch of cloud. I did hear that LittleEagle was very vocal this morning from a friend who visited, but didn't get to the nest site myself and I am missing the little creature so tomorrow I will be back and bring you folks a full report! ... All the very best... TerryV  One of Davids lawn ornaments.. A Sandhill Crane!  Nictitating membrane Have you ever heard this term??? click on the button for info...
Good Morning to everyone! Yesterday afternoon, I spent a couple hours at the nest site and along with doing the radio interview with Pamela McColl on CFAX 1070 ,(who by the way does a great job of this... Thank you, Pamela for making the interview go so smoothly) I watched a juvenile Eaglet fly across me. Since I could only observe 2 Eaglets in the nest, I presumed that this was one of the youngsters that had just fledged.... It may have been, but it may also have been from a different family group... Not sure. I did however speak to a couple from the USA, here on a holiday who had seen the juvenile sitting with an adult. That makes sense because right behind this flying youngster came Mom & Dad .. then Mom followed.  LittleEagle twists his head looking at something that caught his attention... A mouse???  Just to let you great people know... I have been asked to do a live on-air report on CFAX (a local Victoria BC) radio station. Click CFAX 1070 button below to link you to this station! I'm off to the nest now... so stay tuned for the latest Nest News in a couple of hours (by 10PM Pacific) cheers... TerryV  It sure is getting crowded .... I mean in the nest and on the street below! As we basically reach a plateau on this nesting Eagle +1 scene , the mood will change from exhilaration, wondering "what next" to LittleEagle sightings and reports. There must have been 25 or more visitors watching tonight, all with cameras, binoculars, phone cameras, and some even packing lawn chairs to see the next event unfold. The Eaglets were as active today as I have ever witnessed , with much flapping, branching and short flights across the nest. Meanwhile, LittleEagle, our favourite boy (well, mine for sure) made repeated flights around the neighbourhood, chased a hummingbird, or as 1 keen nestside observer said... The hummingbird chased him!! :) This evening was a bit long inbetween nest food drops, so the kids were more subdued vocally... Mind you, LittleEagle kicked up a ruckus from various perches and at 1 point he made his way up into the nest, hopscotching through the boughs, strolled through the nest, weaving between the giant babies that occupy it.. When I see these siblings together , some ancient vision crosses my mind and I am transported back in time, gazing wide eyed at hungry Pterodactyls ... Honestly these birds are monsters, especially contrasted because I have spent months observing this years batch of Rufous Hummingbirds... From micro birds to ...yes.. Monsters. I shot a 2 minute video this evening with the Eaglets bathed in golden light... LittleEagle seems to remain out of the nest most of the time, waiting for an opportunity to dash in and dine, which he does with regularity.    This evenings visit to the nest saw lots of activity both in the air, surrounding trees and on the ground. (Hello to all the interested watchers that come to check on LittleEagle daily) When first arriving this evening, the Eaglets were all very busy wandering around the nest and stretching/flapping in the early evening light. I could hear a mass of crows nearby harassing some poor creature and thought it must be our celebrity Hawk! Turns out LittleEagle was sitting close-by in a tree , and I was fortunate enough to investigate and managed a few nice images in lovely light. There were quite a few trips into the nest by the adult Eagles, bringing both food and nest repair material from the hardware store! :)  July 5th .. My 1st image of LittleEagle tonight  Did anyone save me some dinner???   The photo above shows LittleEagle flying out of the same tree he spent his 1st day in, after fledging. Last evening he flew over here in frustration after several attempts to land in the nest but was bullied off by one of the siblings. Moments after this shot, LittleEagle got back to the nest, where he enjoyed dinner! After dinner, the kids all relaxed and posed for a family (July 4th) portrait. Sibling love is much easier to digest with full tummies!
One of the Eaglets really likes LittleEagle and spent several minutes grooming the little Hawk... Not sure if LittleEagle was enjoying it as much as the Eaglet and eventually he flew over to an adjacent tree... Where, you guessed it... The crow gang found LittleEagle again! sheesh!!! TerryV  LittleEagle watches a Stealth Crow flypast about 9:00 PM on July 4th Greetings to everyone and a special warm one to all you folks watching LittleEagle from South of the 49th. 241 years ago, The United States of America adopted the Declaration of Independence on this day, July 4th ....... I hope a joyful , happy day was enjoyed by all! It was quite a hot, sunny one here on Southern Vancouver Island. I had some business in Victoria for a good part of today, so didn't arrive at the nest for my first look until around 5PM. On the drive over, I couldn't help but enjoy the sparkling ocean vistas, backdropped by Washington State and the incredibly beautiful Mount Baker with its snow capped glory reaching up to the sky! This is the view that LittleEagle and his family enjoy each day... This is where the family group will live out their lives and enjoy their destiny. I was told by one of the dear neighbours that live near the nest that LittleEagle had a rather tough event today. Yet one more flight to the nest, landing on the side, sticks pulled away and he tumbled many feet below... crashing through 2 sets of evergreen boughs before correcting this plummet and flying off, not far above the ground. Another tough landing for littleEagle, but kids seem to recover quickly and today was no exception. When I arrived back at the nest this evening around 7:30,LittleEagle was obviously hungry and made several attempts to fly directly back into the nest for a snack, but twice I saw him held off by one of the Eaglets. One of the folks watching suggested that when the Eaglets are hungry, they get aggressive which stands to reason, because once they get their fill of food, sharing seems to become much easier. I saw this myself this evening. LittleEagle finally got back to the nest after the adults brought several food deliveries. . ............... !!! DANG Crows!!! ...............  Fish for dinner July 4th I arrived nestside a bit earlier this evening and to my total delight, LittleEagles nestmate who ran away from home was back!!! WhooHoo! I canvassed the extremely kind local residents and I was told that all 3 Eaglets were in the nest when they looked out this morning... So local rest assured. We have the family back together again! Click on my YouTube video shot about 7:30 this evening and watch what happens when a small aircraft flies overhead. More photos up in a few minutes.. And images will begin to appear in the STORE this week! Happy evening to everyone......... TerryV :)   |
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March 2018 .. I just received notice that my blog has been awarded a distinction of being one of the top 100 photography blogs in Canada.
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