Eagles | The Beauty Around Us

Posts tagged ‘Eagles’

An Eagle Called “Liberty”

This morning I finished sorting through, editing and uploading photographs from Deborah and Brian’s wedding. Now it is time for me to catch up on my blog writing. I have much to share with you. This is the first of at least seven catch-up blog posts!

On Sunday, June 25, needing a break from reviewing the wedding photographs, Bob and I went for a drive. We ended up at the Audubon Community Nature Center, located in Jamestown NY, where we went for a short walk. At the end of our walk we visited with Liberty, the resident eagle, for a few minutes.

Liberty, just before she flew to a nearby perch in a tree.

Liberty was found in the state of Washington, with an infected cut on her left wing. Liberty cannot be released because the muscle damage in her wing prevents her from flying well enough to hunt in the wild. Liberty can fly short distances inside her habitat. Liberty has lived at the Audubon Community Nature Center since June 2002. A group of volunteers take good care of Liberty.

A Saturday Drive: Lake Wilhelm

After lunch (see previous blog post), we drove to Maurice K. Goddard State Park. Specifically, we went to Lake Wilhelm in search of birds.

Our first stop was at Boat Launch No. 4 on the north side of the lake. We saw several tree swallows and enjoyed watching their acrobatic twists and turns. Of more interest at this boat launch, though, was the family whom we met.

Pastor Tim and his family

Tim is pastor for a small church in Meadville. His family moved to that area a couple years ago. What a very nice family! We talked a little bit about Lake Wilhelm and our plans while there (looking for birds), as well as the Allegheny National Forest, near where Bob and I live. Tim and his wife, Dana, expressed interest in visiting Kinzua Dam and points of interest in the Allegheny National Forest. After I took this photograph of Pastor Tim and his family, we exchanged Facebook information. Before we made it back home, we were friends on Facebook. We hope that our paths cross again one day!

Leaving Boat Launch No. 4 we turned left onto Lake Wilhelm Road, crossing a bridge over Lake Wilhelm. At the end of the bridge, on the right, we stopped near a waterfowl observation area.

Lake Wilhelm Waterfowl Observation Platform

From this observation platform we saw a great blue heron, geese, a red-wing blackbird, an osprey and an eagle.

Osprey

I focused my attention on the osprey for some time, hoping that it would dive into the water and catch a fish. I turned away briefly. The osprey flew off! I managed to capture a photograph of its tail feathers!

Osprey Tail Feathers

What held my attention the longest, though, was the eagle.

Eagle on a Nest

The eagle’s nest was WAY across the pond. It did not move from the nest during our entire stay at the waterfowl viewing platform.

Leaving Lake Wilhelm Road we turned left onto Creek Road and drove along the southern shores of Lake Wilhelm. We stopped at the dam, where we once again enjoyed watching the acrobatic twists and turns of tree swallows.

Tree Swallows

To be continued

ISO Eagles at Lake Wilhelm

Ever since our first visit to Maurice K. Goddard State Park in Mercer County, PA a little more than a month ago (which I forgot to blog about!), I have wanted to make a return trip. Bob and I made that return trip today. As was the case last month, we drove to Maurice K. Goddard State Park in search of eagles at Lake Wilhelm. We saw lots of eagles during our first visit to the state park. The eagles for the most part, though, were too far away for me to capture a good picture. This trip we found three bald eagles–two adult bald eagles and one juvenile, but I am getting ahead of myself.

We left home around 6:30 am. For the next 1 ½ hours or so, we drove in and out of fog. The weather forecast called for temperatures in the low 60s, but it was a frosty 28 degrees when we left home.

We stopped for breakfast at Grantham’s Landing Restaurant in Sandy Lake a short time after 8:00 am. After placing our order, breakfast was served promptly and cheerfully. Bob ordered a bacon and cheese omelet with rye toast. I ordered two scrambled eggs, bacon, wheat toast and a side order of hash browns. I gave Bob two of my four slices of bacon and one of my two hash browns. Breakfast was delicious.

It was only a short drive from the restaurant to Lake Wilhelm. We stopped briefly alongside Lake Wilhelm Road and looked for Eagles. We didn’t see any Eagles, but we did see several Canadian Geese and red-winged blackbirds. There is an observation platform along Lake Wilhelm Road from which Waterfowl, Ospreys, Eagles and other birds can be observed.

This is what we saw, while stopped alongside Lake Wilhelm Road.
I loved the reflections in the water!

This is one of several red-winged blackbirds that we saw,
while stopped alongside Lake Wilhelm Road.

Leaving Lake Wilhelm Road, we turned left onto Creek Road following it all the way to Lake Wilhelm Dam. The area near the dam is where we saw the three Eagles. We saw great blue herons too.

This is the view from on top of Lake Wilhelm Dam.

Can you spot the Great Blue Heron?

We saw three bald eagles.

These three pictures are of the same eagle.

On our way home we drove around Sugar Lake and made a quick drive through a small portion of the Erie National Wildlife Refuge near Guys Mill. We saw two fishers. One fisher crossed the road in front of us; the other fisher crossed the road behind us. We saw a pair of Canadian Geese too. Nothing unusual about that; they are everywhere!

a Pair of Canadian Geese at Erie National Wildlife Refuge
I loved the reflection in the water!

Oh, I almost forgot. We saw a cool-looking barn while driving through Cochrantan, PA.

What a cool-looking barn!

We returned home around 2:00 pm, after a delightful Saturday drive.

Sunday Dinner Ride

We spent the afternoon and part of the evening of Sunday, June 14, riding with our 2 Scoop CycleTherapy friends. We met Paul, Debbie, John, Carol, Scott, Donna, Mark, Faye and Bill at the North Warren Playground parking lot at 12:30 pm.

We put on our rain gear, as it started to rain shortly before our 1:00 pm departure time.

Carol getting a little help from John in putting on rain gear.

Our final destination was Sprague’s Maple Farms, located in Portville NY.

We made one stop, in Eldred PA, on our way to Sprague’s. A few of the ladies used the stop as a potty break. It didn’t take long for us to reach Sprague’s from that stop.

Eldred PA stop

It was 3:30 pm, when we were seated and our dinner orders placed. Bob ordered a pork chop dinner. I ordered a breakfast entree: scrambled eggs, bacon and pancakes. The pancakes were unlimited. I couldn’t even finish the three pancakes that came with my meal!

After dinner we started our ride back home.

Getting ready to leave Sprague’s Maple Farms

We stopped at Marilla Reservoir in Bradford PA, where I planned to take a group picture of the eleven of us at the covered bridge. We got sidetracked, though, when we saw an eagle in a tree.

Eagle in Tree

We heard thunder, while at the reservoir, and changed our planned route home. We backtracked a short way and took Songbird Lane to Route 770 to Route 59. This was a faster way home than taking Route 346 to Route 321. It rained on our way home. I had taken off my rain gear when we arrived at Sprague’s. I did not put the rain pants back on, when we left Sprague’s. I got wet and cold. As soon as we returned home, I took a long, hot shower and went to bed. The next morning I awakened with a sore throat, runny nose, a cough and a hoarse voice. It took the better part of the week to feel better!

Eagles!

On our way home from Niagara Falls, NY this past Sunday we stopped at Chadwick Bay in Dunkirk, NY, where we saw at least a dozen eagles hanging out in trees along the edge of the bay. Several trees were occupied by eagles. The trees had anywhere from one to three eagles in them.

I drew an arrow on the map displayed above to show you where we saw the eagles. We pulled off a few times along Lake Shore Dr W to observe the Eagles. Very deep snow piles along the highway and in Memorial Park provided a good buffer zone between the Eagles and from where we observed them.

We saw both mature and immature eagles.

Both of these photographs are heavily cropped. I could kick myself for not bringing a tripod and my long lens with me the past weekend. We were in the car and had plenty of room for my camera bag and all lenses.

In-Flight Eagle

Nature Center Visit

I spent a couple hours the morning of July 22 at the Audubon Center & Sanctuary, located in Jamestown NY. The Audubon Center is less than a 1/2 hour drive from my home and is one of my favorite local destinations. I enjoy walking along the nature trails and photographing whatever happens to catch my eye.

Audubon Center & Sanctuary

Snake!

Snake’s Head!

Geese

“Liberty”

No visit to the Audubon is complete without seeing “Liberty”.

I happened to be at the Audubon Center, when Liberty was given her lunch.

I hope that you enjoyed looking at photographs of what caught my eye during this visit.

Happy Birthday to Me

Yesterday was my birthday, and I spent the day with my best friend — my husband, Bob.

We awakened early and watched a couple episodes of “House of Cards” before 9:00 am. “House of Cards” is an American political drama television series. The entire first season, 13 episodes, premiered on February 1, 2013, on Netflix. A second season of 13 episodes premiered on February 14, 2014. Netflix announced on February 4, 2014 that the show had been renewed for a third season. Both Bob and I enjoyed watching “House of Cards”. We watched the last episode of Season 2 last night, after returning home from my birthday drive. We look forward to Season 3. It will be a long wait.

After watching a couple episodes of “House of Cards” yesterday morning, we went for a drive. Our final destination was the Seneca Allegany Casino in Salamanca, NY; however, we made a few stops along the way.

Our first stop was at Kinzua Dam.

While at Kinzua Dam, we spotted a couple eagles standing way out on the ice. I barely had time to get my camera from the back seat and exchange a 12-50mm lens for a 75-300mm lens, before the eagles flew off. I need to learn how to capture good pictures of birds in flight. My pictures are grainy and blurry. Part of the problem is that I don’t have enough reach with my camera lens, even though my 75-300mm lens provides an equivalent focal length of 600mm. The other problem I have is focusing on a moving object, especially when I have only one opportunity to lock in that focus.

This is the best picture of an eagle in flight that I captured yesterday.

From Kinzua Dam we continued on Route 59 to McKean County, where we turned left onto Route 321. This route was most picturesque, with the trees frosted with snow and the overcast sky giving way to blue skies.

Frosty Trees Along Route 321 in McKean County, PA

Frosty Trees Along Route 321 in McKean County, PA

Frosty Trees Along Route 321 in McKean County, PA

Frosty Trees Along Route 321 in McKean County, PA

Upon reaching the intersection of Routes 321 and 346, we turned right onto Route 346 (towards Bradford, PA).

Marilla Reservoir

After a quick photo stop at Marilla Reservoir, we continued on Route 346 to Bradford. We turned left onto Route 4009, which we followed to Allegany State Park.

Our first stop was at Science Lake.

Quaker Lake

Bob, with Red House Administration Building in background

Bob took this photograph of me, with Red House Administration Building in background

Red House Administration Building

We started our drive outside the park from the Red House area. We drove along ASP Route 1 to the park’s Salamanca, NY entrance.

We saw young deer grazing alongside ASP Route 1.

There is a scenic overlook just past the Salamanca entrance to Allegany State Park. The overlook provides a spectacular view over the valley and to the hills in the distance.

The road seen in this photograph is Interstate 86.
In the distance there is a farm.
If you see yellow farm buildings, you have located the farm.

I have always wanted to photograph this farm. I admire it each time we pass it Interstate 86. I never stopped to take a picture because of the fast-moving traffic. When I recognized the farm from the scenic overlook, I was so happy that I had my long lens with me.

Valent Dairy Farm, as seen from ASP 1 overlook

From the scenic overlook, it was only a few minutes’ drive to the Seneca Allegany Casino. We arrived at the casino in the early afternoon. We ate lunch at Thunder Mountain Buffet. The casino has a special promotion on every Sunday through Thursday through February 27–buy a buffet and get $15 free slot play. Bob and I received $15 each. I received an extra $5 credit because it was my birthday (another promotion). Bob received an extra $10 credit on his card. We don’t know why, although I think it was because he had enough points on his card to qualify for $10 free slot play. According to the “Free Slot Day Every Day You Play” promotion, Bob should have received an email informing him of the $10 free slot play. As far as I know, he didn’t receive that email (or he overlooked it). We had a good luck at the casino! I left the casino with $46 and change; Bob left with $19 and change. I didn’t spend a penny of my money. Bob did spend $33 for our lunches, which was my birthday present. It was nice that he got back $19 of that expenditure.

It was a great day overall, one of my favorite birthday celebrations.