Bird lovers check in.

[Ellen]

I thought you might like this pic that was in our local paper. We have over a thousand Eagles flock to our town and surrounding area ever year, from the end of Dec. through March. They are just so awesome and beautiful.

This one''s just taking off.

 

[EricaR]

Neat!!!!!

We have a really wide assortment of hawks here, Red-Tails, Red-Shoulders, Coopers, etc. A few days ago I was driving home from work and saw a Red-Tail take off with a snake in its talons. I dislike snakes so I was really cheering on the hawk!

This is a Turkey Vulture we saw out hiking last week. I love watching them swoop on the warm air currents.

 

[bee*]

wow they''re beautiful! I''m in such a birdie mood today-it''s nowhere near as cool as your birds but we got a baby pigeon in work today and it was to be put down, but after examining it, I found that it''s wings were perfect and it was just tired. After feeding it and giving it water, I just released it a while ago and he flew away. I''m so happy that he was ok in the end.

Sorry for that threadjack but no ones home yet so I couldn''t tell them my happy news

 

[Elmorton]

I''ve had so many bald eagle sightings this week! I was driving home from work on Friday and while crossing the Mississippi, I looked down and saw one perched on the ice. If I heard correctly, the news said that 5 years ago the population was 300 and now it''s around 3,000 in Iowa. Thank goodness, they''re such beautiful, regal creatures.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 1/20/2008 5:43:45 PM
Author: EricaR
Neat!!!!!

We have a really wide assortment of hawks here, Red-Tails, Red-Shoulders, Coopers, etc. A few days ago I was driving home from work and saw a Red-Tail take off with a snake in its talons. I dislike snakes so I was really cheering on the hawk!

This is a Turkey Vulture we saw out hiking last week. I love watching them swoop on the warm air currents.

lol!

I love watching the Eagles fish, it''s just amazing. And the turkey vultures, ugly as they are, are really cool to watch. My hubby''s brother lives on the edge of the bluffs by the river, and they have an inground pool, which I use occassionally in the summer. I love laying on a raft and watching them, they love to ride the currents and just glide without flapping their wings as long as they possibly can. So cool. Sometimes though, they get frisky and kinda dive bomb you, not so cool.

bee, don''t apologize! I love a happy ending.

el, they''re definitely making a comeback! Are you sure about those numbers though? I only ask because our area supposedly has like the second biggest population. Just what I''ve heard.

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 1/20/2008 5:27:51 PM
Author:Ellen
I thought you might like this pic that was in our local paper. We have over a thousand Eagles flock to our town and surrounding area ever year, from the end of Dec. through March. They are just so awesome and beautiful.

This one's just taking off.

Oh my gosh, you are so lucky! I have never seen one irl and I someday hope to see one. They are quite magnificant birds; thanks for sharing!

 

[Ellen]

Date: 1/20/2008 6:09:48 PM
Author: Skippy123

Oh my gosh, you are so lucky! I have never seen one irl and someday hope to see one. They are quite magnificant birds; thanks for sharing!

Oh, you truly need to see one, they are just awesome!

 

[door knob solitaire]

I have only seen one...and I bawled like a baby. You are so fortunate to get to see more!

Oh, thanks for sharing. §

 

[Kaleigh]

I have only seen one, will never forget it. I was in Wyoming, it was a sight to behold.

 

[Elmorton]

I went back to check out my stats - I did overhear incorrectly, sortof - the growth has been over a longer period of time. In Iowa, the numbers of eagles were down to around 400 in the 80''s and is now well over 3,000: Eagle Article This area has been having all sorts of Bald Eagle sightings/info days, but with the temps here, I can''t bring myself to go

 

[Lorelei]

Ellen, thanks so much for sharing those pics, it must be amazing to see those eagles in that way!

Bee good for you with your pigeon!

 

[Ellen]

Date: 1/20/2008 10:20:14 PM
Author: Elmorton
I went back to check out my stats - I did overhear incorrectly, sortof - the growth has been over a longer period of time. In Iowa, the numbers of eagles were down to around 400 in the 80''s and is now well over 3,000: Eagle Article This area has been having all sorts of Bald Eagle sightings/info days, but with the temps here, I can''t bring myself to go

Thanks for the link/info El, that''s awesome!

How cold is it there?




And I''m glad you all enjoyed the pic. If I see any close ups I''ll post them.

 

[EricaR]

Date: 1/20/2008 6:09:27 PM
Author: Ellen

I love watching the Eagles fish, it''s just amazing. And the turkey vultures, ugly as they are, are really cool to watch. My hubby''s brother lives on the edge of the bluffs by the river, and they have an inground pool, which I use occassionally in the summer. I love laying on a raft and watching them, they love to ride the currents and just glide without flapping their wings as long as they possibly can. So cool. Sometimes though, they get frisky and kinda dive bomb you, not so cool.

Ack! Dive bombing is so not OK!!!

I wish we had Bald Eagles around here but as far as I''m aware we don''t. The only species of eagle we do see are Goldens and those are very rare. The one time we saw a Golden Eagle we were out hiking and she swooped out of a tree right in front of us. Her wingspan was wider than the trail which was the size of a single lane road. I wish I had had my camera with me that day!

 

[Ellen]

Date: 1/21/2008 10:08:50 AM
Author: EricaR


Ack! Dive bombing is so not OK!!!

I wish we had Bald Eagles around here but as far as I''m aware we don''t. The only species of eagle we do see are Goldens and those are very rare. The one time we saw a Golden Eagle we were out hiking and she swooped out of a tree right in front of us. Her wingspan was wider than the trail which was the size of a single lane road. I wish I had had my camera with me that day!

Isn''t it amazing?

We have owls around here, we hear them more than see them, and their wingspans can get pretty awesome too.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 1/21/2008 10:08:50 AM
Author: EricaR

Date: 1/20/2008 6:09:27 PM
Author: Ellen

I love watching the Eagles fish, it''s just amazing. And the turkey vultures, ugly as they are, are really cool to watch. My hubby''s brother lives on the edge of the bluffs by the river, and they have an inground pool, which I use occassionally in the summer. I love laying on a raft and watching them, they love to ride the currents and just glide without flapping their wings as long as they possibly can. So cool. Sometimes though, they get frisky and kinda dive bomb you, not so cool.

Ack! Dive bombing is so not OK!!!

I wish we had Bald Eagles around here but as far as I''m aware we don''t. The only species of eagle we do see are Goldens and those are very rare. The one time we saw a Golden Eagle we were out hiking and she swooped out of a tree right in front of us. Her wingspan was wider than the trail which was the size of a single lane road. I wish I had had my camera with me that day!

Yikes, that must be scary with the divebombing!

 

[Ellen]

Date: 1/21/2008 10:21:10 AM
Author: Lorelei

Yikes, that must be scary with the divebombing!

It is. Kinda makes you think you''re in a scene from The Birds.

Luckily they don''t do it very often!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 1/21/2008 10:26:17 AM
Author: Ellen

Date: 1/21/2008 10:21:10 AM
Author: Lorelei

Yikes, that must be scary with the divebombing!

It is. Kinda makes you think you''re in a scene from The Birds.

Luckily they don''t do it very often!

I tell you, Macaulay''s screaming would have nothing on mine, if that happened to me and I felt a pair of eagle claws scraping across my head and flapping wings....

 

[Ellen]

Date: 1/21/2008 10:33:15 AM
Author: Lorelei

I tell you, Macaulay''s screaming would have nothing on mine, if that happened to me and I felt a pair of eagle claws scraping across my head and flapping wings....

They don''t actually touch you, they just get close enough to scare the youknowwhat out of you.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 1/21/2008 10:36:37 AM
Author: Ellen

Date: 1/21/2008 10:33:15 AM
Author: Lorelei

I tell you, Macaulay''s screaming would have nothing on mine, if that happened to me and I felt a pair of eagle claws scraping across my head and flapping wings....

They don''t actually touch you, they just get close enough to scare the youknowwhat out of you.

 

[secondhandnews]

The bald eagles are so beautiful. There is an eagle "winter home" about an hour from my home. It is a weekend adventure for many people to go to the lake and see the eagles this time of year. About once a year, they bring a couple of rescued eagles to the local ballpark and let the children see them up close. Kind of neat for adults too.

 

[FireGoddess]

Gorgeous pic! I wonder if that ''eagle cam'' is still up and running...I loved watching them in their nests last year.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 1/21/2008 10:41:02 AM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 1/21/2008 10:36:37 AM
Author: Ellen

They don''t actually touch you, they just get close enough to scare the youknowwhat out of you.

You need to come visit, we have so much to see. See?!

shn, neat! We have people travel from a ways into MO to come see them too (I''m on IL border). And they always bring one into the visitors center so you can get up close and personal.



fg, what eagle cam??

 

[Linda W]

We had a pure white owl near where we live. It was near the marsh. We wanted to go see it, we would have had to take a boat to go see it. People were lined up all over the place to go see this special owl. Our local paper had its picture in the paper. It was so beautiful. Owls are beautiful.


We took our grandson''s to the zoo to see them. Some of them were huge. The trainers were holding them. Some of them the way they look at you, look like they are ready to attack.

Linda

 

[Ellen]

Date: 1/21/2008 3:57:59 PM
Author: Linda W
We had a pure white owl near where we live. It was near the marsh. We wanted to go see it, we would have had to take a boat to go see it. People were lined up all over the place to go see this special owl. Our local paper had its picture in the paper. It was so beautiful. Owls are beautiful.


We took our grandson''s to the zoo to see them. Some of them were huge. The trainers were holding them. Some of them the way they look at you, look like they are ready to attack.

Linda

Oh Linda, how cool!

You know, several years ago, for a few weeks one summer, we had an owl land very close by our bedroom window (which was open) every morning around 6:00. He/she would sit for a few minutes hooting, and then take off. I just loved that, they are so neat.

And yes, they can get BIG. We were driving out in the country one night at dusk years ago, in hubby''s old convertible, top down. This HUGE shadow came at us out of nowhere, realllly close to our heads, and then dissappeared into the woods. It was an owl, a big one. Scared the youknowwhat out of us (2 guys too).

Oh dear, Lorelei''s never going to come visit at this rate.

 

[Linda W]

Ellen,

I bet that scared you. HA!!!

Growing up, my parents house faced a fenced in golf course. The owls must have loved living there. At night, when my bedroom window was open , I could hear them. It was so cool. Sometimes, as kids, my brother and I would go outside and "hoot" back at them. My dad stopped that fast. LOL LOL.

Linda

 

[Ellen]

Date: 1/21/2008 4:29:51 PM
Author: Linda W
Ellen,

I bet that scared you. HA!!!

Growing up, my parents house faced a fenced in golf course. The owls must have loved living there. At night, when my bedroom window was open , I could hear them. It was so cool. Sometimes, as kids, my brother and I would go outside and ''hoot'' back at them. My dad stopped that fast. LOL LOL.

Linda

What a killjoy.

 

[Linda W]

Yea, the neighbors used to come outside to see what the loud hooting was all about, ha ha ha ha ha.

Linda

 

[Ellen]

BTW, I can coo with my hands cupped like a Turtledove.

 

[Linda W]

ha ha ha, I would LOVE to hear that Ellen

Linda

 

[secondhandnews]

Ellen - Are you in the bootheel area of MO? I am talking about Reelfoot Lake in upper west Tennessee as where we go to see the eagles.

I have a BIL who lives across the road from people who raise turkeys. BIL likes to go outside and call to the turkeys in mating season to make the turkeys think there is a female across the road. Poor misled turkeys!!