Though I knew the pink salmon were out at Indian River mouth, I did not realize they had already moved well up river and so was a little surprised to see this Bald Eagle with a pink salmon a short distance up Indian River Trail. From the looks of things, the eagle had just pulled the fish out of the river and was starting to try and open it up because just a few moments after I first saw it, the fish started flopping and the eagle had to work a bit to get it back under control. We only spent a short time observing before moving on up the trail.

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A Bald Eagle with striking white primary feathers has been reported around Sitka several times over the past few years, but I had never seen it until I noticed it soaring above my house early this afternoon. I seem to recall it’s been seen elsewhere in Southeast, but I am not sure where. Given its distinctive appearance, it should be fairly easy to track sightings of it, I think. If you’ve seen this bird, it would be great if you could post a comment here with the where and when (or as much of it as you remember). Perhaps if there is enough interest, I’ll set up a separate page for tracking the bird.

On a separate note, it apparently got up to 68F today which ties the record set back in 1989. It felt maybe a bit warmer than I prefer, but I’m sure the plants will respond with a surge of growth.

A couple of new for the season birds reported today were Greater White-fronted Geese at Swan Lake, a Red-winged Blackbird at Swan Lake (Connor), and a Pacific Golden-plover at Totem Park (E. Parker). Also Connor saw new ducklings at Swan Lake..

This morning we did drive out the road to see what activity we might be able to see from the shore, but we only noticed one (or maybe two) whales near the kelp patch turnout. I was actually a little surprised at how little activity there was, as apparently over the past few days there has been a lot of whale activity very close to shore. We did see a large spruce tree with over a dozen eagles in it, which was kind of fun.

I have heard reports of ravens gathering nesting material this week, and also happened to see one with a beak full of what appeared to be grass alongside the road getting towards the ferry terminal.

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Something else I noticed as I continued on past the willow was at least one Cedar Waxwing interacting with the female blackbird. The waxwing was chasing the blackbird, and I didn’t see the full interaction, but the blackbird have been chasing the waxwing as well? I’m not sure what was motivating these interactions. I’ve been noticing several waxwings over the past week or so. They are late arriving breeding birds probably looking to set up nesting territories at this point, so perhaps they were defending a potential nest site against the blackbirds.

Laura K. sent an e-mail with some photos (that were too large to go through to the whole list) about a Bald Eagle’s out Sawmill Creek Road that appeared to have a black buoy in it. Using her photos as a guide to where it was, I was able to get a picture with my telephoto lens that showed a bit more clearly a black ball in the nest. It is clearly quite large, and it seems quite unlikely that this was placed there by an eagle.

I do have a hypothesis, however. Work is beginning on a project to improve the road (and add a separated path). Trees have already been cut near the nest (see photo below) – presumably as part of this project. My guess is the ball was placed in the nest to keep eagles from using it this spring/summer. If this is correct (and I’m hoping someone who sees this can verify), I’m curious how they got the object in the nest – it’s fairly high above the road, so it seems like it would have required a crane or helicopter.

Thanks to Laura for sending in the question and photos to start with!

Update: The buoys were placed in the nest to keep eagles from trying to use the nest this summer while road construction is taking place. This is legal if permits are obtained from the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The idea is the eagles will use an alternate nest, and hopefully have a better chance of success, but the nest shown here will be available for nesting again in subsequent years after the buoys are removed. Thanks to Jen C. for following up

Tuesday
We went back to the park, and both kids decided to wander through the woods. The tide was up, and the weather wasn’t so pleasant, so I made quick work of my beach watching and walked along up the river side of the beach-side loop. While near the bridge, I saw an eagle flying through the forest, again looking like it had a murre in its talons. The forest is thick enough that I did not even bother trying to figure out where it went, but continued on out to the main entrance. Despite waiting a while along the trail, I had not seen Connor and Rowan come out, so I decided to wait a bit longer near the visitor’s center.

Thoughts
I don’t know how often eagles take murres. I’ve never seen it happen before, though that could be a function of where murres are usually found. On Monday there was a pretty large group of them off Jamestown Bay, and I suspect that’s where the first eagle picked up its bird. It was a little more difficult to tell if they were still out there on Tuesday, but I suspect at least some were. In talking to Marge Ward, she thought some eagles might have started to figure out murres could be a good food source a couple of years back when there were many eagles in town starving to death (dozens were turned in to the raptor center by March – more than usually were turned in over a full year).

There were other odd murre occurrences this week as well. I heard of at least two dead murres found with no apparent injuries, one on the water, and another washed ashore. There is at least one murre that has been seen almost constantly in Crescent Harbor. I saw it yesterday, and it seemed fairly lethargic, though it’s possible that it is more active at other times. I also saw an additional couple of murres at the mouth of Crescent Harbor. I do not think this is very typical. It makes me wonder if there’s an illness afflicting the murres, killing some of them, and making others a little less able to avoid predation.

Walked down to Totem Park with the kids again today. It was pretty rainy for much of the time we were there, though the rain stopped and skies lightened a bit before we left.

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Remains of a bird, probably a Common Murre, most likely consumed by an eagle.

Many feathers are caught in the branches where a Bald Eagle is plucking its lunch (probably a Common Murre).

Many feathers are caught in the branches where a Bald Eagle is plucking its lunch (probably a Common Murre).

Buckiella undulata growing at base of a spruce tree.

Mt. Kincaid casting shadows into the mist and.

I had intended to take a short walk down to Totem Park to check if any shorebirds were out that way and hopefully find a Rock Sandpiper – a species which I know is around, but had not been seen during yesterdays bird count. It didn’t quite work out that way, but that was because there were interesting things to be observing.

First up was a Western Screech Owl on Etolin Street – the first I’ve seen in daylight, and only about the third time I’ve actually seen one at all (though I’ve heard them many times).

Then down at the park I got distracted by conversation with a couple of different people – heard some interesting things about the goings-on of birds an other animals. Including ducks at Totem Park and Sea Otters out at Halibut Point Rec. (In one of the videos [update: no longer available] made by one of the people I was talking to – there is part of it you can observed Mallards working over the cobbles in Indian River for food, as well as seeing a Common Merganser try and come in to steal some bites – at least that’s what I think is going on.)

While out on the flats looking for the shorebirds, I looked up as the gulls and crows went into a bird plow. Spotted an eagle with something in its talons flying my way.

There was an odd duck out in the bay in front of Indian River mouth – too far away to get a very good look at. Also lots of birds out from Jamestown Bay, too far to identify as well.

Finally I started back home and then spent more time watching and photographing the owl, as well as showing some other passers-by.

The whole time there were interesting atmospheric displays as the clouds were breaking up in front of the sun.

In the end it was a fairly full day wandering around, seeing the sights, and then editing the photos later. I think the owl and eagle photos deserve their own post. The photos are in the album here, but I think I’ll write a separate post in the next couple of days to tell those stories a little better.

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Western Screech Owl found roosting in a spruce tree along Etolin Street.

Western Screech Owl found roosting in a spruce tree along Etolin Street.

Western Screech Owl found roosting in a spruce tree along Etolin Street.

A Great Blue Heron patrols a tidepool at Totem Park with Mt. Edgecumbe rising behind O'Connell Bridge in the background.

Bald Eagle flight with Common Murre prey.

Bald Eagle flight with Common Murre prey.

Snow-covered Mt. Edgecumbe as seen from Totem Park.

Sun rays radiate down over Eastern Channel with the Pyramids providing a dark background.

Sun rays radiate down over Eastern Channel with the Pyramids providing a dark background.

A Trumpeter Swan takes off from Indian River Estuary with storage containers making for a fairly developed looking background.

I was puzzled by this bird until getting a look at it in this full resolution (drastically cropped) scale. I believe it is a young White-winged Scoter.

Female Common Mergansers foraging in shallow water at Mouth of Indian River.

Female Common Mergansers foraging in shallow water at Mouth of Indian River.

Female Common Mergansers foraging in shallow water at Mouth of Indian River.

Sun rays shining from behind clouds with a bit of iridescence in the clouds at the lower left.

Cumulus clouds and sun rays.

Cumulus clouds and sun rays.

Western Screech Owl found roosting in a spruce tree along Etolin Street.

Western Screech Owl found roosting in a spruce tree along Etolin Street.

Bald Eagle flight with Common Murre prey.

Bald Eagle flight with Common Murre prey.

Bald Eagle flight with Common Murre prey.

The first has taken off and the next two are getting ready to get up to speed.

Common Merganser gaining speed to achieve flight.

Marge Ward told me she saw a Golden Eagle at the park this morning, so I braved the rain to see if it was still around. I just found a young juvenile Bald Eagle. There were Pholiota mushrooms in abundance on a fallen alder where I had seen them a couple of years ago (prior to it falling).

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Hatch year Bald Eagle in tree at Totem Park.

Pholiota astragalina fallen Red Alder (Alnus rubra) in Totem Park.

Pholiota astragalina fallen Red Alder (Alnus rubra) in Totem Park.

Spent another evening just post sunset. Birds were a bit more vocal this evening. I could easily hear many gulls south of me on the beach near Totem Park. They were more vocal than yesterday and I wondered if perhaps some herring were getting stranded on the outgoing tide.

A robin was singing for a good chunk of the time I was sitting. I could hear it to the northwest, further away and in a different direction than the one singing last night. I could not say whether it was the same bird or not. One thing I did notice was the singing seemed more mellow without the strident sort of angry sounding tone and cadence that I was hearing last night. It occurred to me that it could be the greater distance, or perhaps there was some sort of resonance/harsh echoes that were coloring my perception of the bird last night, or it may have just been a particularly aggressive feeling robin.

There was some activity in the Song Sparrow hedge across the drive. I first noticed a single bird feeding close to the southeast side of the hedge for a brief period of time. Shortly after I noticed it, it returned its cover. It started to alarm (or at least that’s how I interpreted it), but not in a particularly strident fashion. After a few moments I could hear a second Song Sparrow giving the same chirping alarm call down the hill south of me. The alarms went on for a couple minutes or so, I think – though I didn’t time them. When they stopped alarming I noticed a couple of Bald Eagles that had been sitting close together in the tops of Western Hemlocks (Tsuga heterophylla) were gone. I had neither heard nor seen them take off, so was not sure when it happened, but I wondered if that’s what had prompted the feeding Song Sparrow to return to the hedge and follow up with a bit of an alarm.

Later there were a couple of Song Sparrows doing a little chasing around the hedge. I saw one fly off to the northwest of the hedge, and another do a longer loop. I think there may have been three different sparrows, but I only ever saw two at a time, so I’m not positive.

During the school year I usually walk to UAS twice a week in the afternoon. It’s interesting to observe the changes, especially as the season turns to spring. The Channel boat harbors have boats in town for the Herring Sac Roe fishery tied up two and three deep to the transient floats. Long-line season starts a week or two prior, and the gulls are feasting on the effluent from the fish processing plants. Bald Eagles line the shoreline keeping an eye out for opportunities to eat, but it seems they are especially watching for the first herring spawning when the fish will be abundant close to the surface and relatively easy to feast on.

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Many extra boats are in town tied up two and three deep to the transient floats at the harbors. They are waiting for the herring fishery to begin.

Scaups are a regular visitor to The Channel during the winter season - especially when Swan Lake is frozen.

The outflow for Seafood Producers Coop bubbles up where all the gulls have gathered to feed on scraps from the waste stream.

This Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) was perched in a Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis) overlooking the water, watching for opportunities to eat.

This Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) was perched in a Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis) overlooking the water, watching for opportunities to eat.

A Chestnut-backed Chickadee and Red-breasted Nuthatch trade calls. This was one of the last times I heard a nuthatch around the house, though I have heard them elsewhere in town, since. Recorded the morning of 11 November.

After my return, the Bald Eagles seemed to be the first birds to greet the day. Some mornings they are perched in the trees right behind the house. Recorded morning of 29 November.

The night of the 29-30 November, was a busy one for Marbled Murrelets. There are two clips on this recording, the first one sounds like the bird was quite close, and if I’m interpreting the sound correctly, there’s the smear of an echo with it. The second was from 10 or 15 seconds later, more distant. Perhaps the same bird on a return flight? Recorded at 03:28 am.

Chestnut-backed Chickadees are reputed to be cheerful even in foul weather. This one didn’t seemed to have its spirits dampened by the chilly November rain.

Ravens make a wide variety of different calls. On this recording there are three different clips with 4 different types of calls in the foreground (and another in the far background). Perhaps some day I’ll come up with descriptive names for the different ones I record. Recorded morning of 30 November.

More Raven calls, these from the morning of 1 December. This clip features what I might call the frog croak call as well as the more typical caw.

Download Bald Eagle Calls

River Otter Mystery Calls: I’m still puzzled by these River Otter/Mystery Calls. In this clip, it seems as though there’s an echo effect smearing the call somewhat, though in the very last call, there is not really any echo. It’s hard for me tell for sure if the final call is the same as the earlier ones, though it seems like maybe it is.
Download River Otter Mystery Calls

River Otter and Mystery Calls: Recorded only 5 minutes or so after the previous clip, this starts out with what I’m pretty confident is a River Otter. About halfway through, the calls change to the mystery calls that sound kind of like gulls to me.
Download River Otter and Mystery Calls

Early Rising Bald Eagle: This Bald Eagle probably spent the night in a tree behind the house. It was up early on a rainy Sunday, though given the time change last night, it was not as early as it might have otherwise seemed. Recorded at 06:37.
Download Early Rising Bald Eagle

Hail Falling: There was a small hail storm early this morning. Recorded at 06:18. Download Hail Falling

Bald Eagles: A couple of Bald Eagles calling in the back yard. Recorded at 08:05. Download Bald Eagles

I happened to notice this Bald Eagle perched in a tree as the moon was rising, and was lucky enough to be able to find a place where I could get them together.

Last week Melissa came home and suggested I go take a look at the moon rising behind the mountains. I was a little reluctant, and I had been working on something and figured the moon rises fast enough, I would probably miss the most interesting part. In the end, I decided I could go out to check it out, and I was not sorry I did.

She said the place she saw it best was down near the tennis courts in the greenbelt near Crescent Harbor. It only took me a minute to get down there with my camera and was able to see the moon. The color she had described was gone, as I suspected, but it was still nice to see the moon rising along the lower slopes of Verstovia. It was not as photogenic as I might have preferred, due to powerlines and such intruding into the image. However, while I was watching, I happened to spy a Bald Eagle perched in a distant tree that was near enough in alignment to the moon that I thought I might be able to compose an image with both.

I made my way up the campus lawn and was able to get the eagle and the moon together. I was not able to line them up in quite the way I had hoped and took a lot of pictures hoping they turned out reasonably sharp with the eagle in profile (it periodically moved its head, but most of the time it was facing me, so the clear outline of its beak was not there). In the end, I kept six shots, and felt fortunate to have the opportunity to photograph this scene.

I happened to notice this Bald Eagle perched in a tree as the moon was rising, and was lucky enough to be able to find a place where I could get them together.

I happened to notice this Bald Eagle perched in a tree as the moon was rising, and was lucky enough to be able to find a place where I could get them together.

I happened to notice this Bald Eagle perched in a tree as the moon was rising, and was lucky enough to be able to find a place where I could get them together.

I happened to notice this Bald Eagle perched in a tree as the moon was rising, and was lucky enough to be able to find a place where I could get them together.