Author’s Note — after writing this post last night, I realized that I got the two browser windows confused, and wrongly identified the bird we saw as a Loggerhead, when it was actually a Northern Shrike. I have struck out the wrong name where appropriate. My next post compares the two birds. (https://amylawscigeek.com/2022/01/27/my-bad-its-a-northern-shrike-after-all/) Like soContinue reading “Loggerhead — OOOPS — Northern Shrike”
Tag Archives: birds of prey
Turkey vultures have returned to Front Range
Some people watch for the first robin of spring. In Capistrano, they look for the return of the swallows. I know it’s spring when the turkey vultures return to the Front Range of Colorado. (https://amylaw.blog/2013/04/08/it-must-be-spring/) Turkey vultures are big birds — the biggest you are likely to see, with the exception of an eagle orContinue reading “Turkey vultures have returned to Front Range”
Birds coming back
We’ve been following the Bald Eagles at Fort St. Vrain power plant closely this spring. But other birds are showing up, too. Spotted Towhees scratch in the soil for insects. But in the spring, you can hear the males calling “tche-tche-tche-cheee!”as they perch on the tips of trees. (https://amylaw.blog/2014/06/02/spotted-towhee/) A pair of black-capped chickadees spentContinue reading “Birds coming back”
Ten days of growth…
Mama eagle shades the chicks. At this point, they are 9 days old. Up until this day, I hadn’t seen them out of the central depression, where the failed egg remains. But once they started exploring, they rambled all over. I’m a little annoyed, because Mama eagle is in the way of a nice shotContinue reading “Ten days of growth…”
Two out of Three
It’s been ten days or so since the first two eagle chicks have hatched. They have grown and become much more active. The third egg, though, is probably not going to hatch. Today, the mother eagle stopped brooding the egg entirely. Even if the last egg did hatch, the chicks get fed on the basisContinue reading “Two out of Three”
Bald Eagle Egg #3, Day 1
The Fort St. Vrain Bald Eagles have been busy. They’ve added more sticks to their nest… … they are eating well… … and as of this morning, they’ve laid a third egg. If I’ve counted correctly, we should start seeing eaglets around March 20.
Bald Eagle Egg #2 Day 1
The Fort St. Vrain Bald Eagles fussed about their nest again today. Those sticks just aren’t quite right! The larger eagle, in the foreground, flew off, and left us with a view of the smaller eagle — and two eggs. Of concern: snow and single digit night time temperatures for the next few days…
Bald Eagle Egg #1, Day 1
The Bald Eagles at the St. Vrain Power Plant in Platteville, Colorado laid their first egg of the season sometime last night or early this morning. When I checked in on them around 10:00 this morning, one of the eagles was sitting in the depression they had carefully created in the nest.https://amylaw.blog/2019/02/10/eagle-cam/ I wasn’t sureContinue reading “Bald Eagle Egg #1, Day 1”
Eagle Cam
Many years ago, the local power company, Public Service of Colorado, placed a nest box on the smokestack of one of their power plants. They put a camera inside, and watched what happened. What happened was that a pair of Great Horned Owls moved in and raised a family. The public got to watch. VeryContinue reading “Eagle Cam”
Sharp-shinned hawk misses flicker for lunch
The gregarious band of little bushtits took off in a burst of feathers and cheeping alarm calls. I looked up just in time to see a Northern flicker shoot out of the top of a tree, with a sharp-shinned hawk in hot pursuit. Luckily for the flicker, the hawk had made its move too soon,Continue reading “Sharp-shinned hawk misses flicker for lunch”
Amy Law, Science Geek 