Ralph and Grace: The Polar Vortex continues - January 12

It was a perfect start to the beginning of the week. When we woke up Monday morning we were able to enjoy a beautiful sunrise. What a blessing to see the colours unhindered by houses and tree's. They didn't last long but we still enjoyed watching it.

Here we are entering the middle part of January and the forecast for the rest of the month is for cold temperatures. We bundled up today and headed out to the International Golf Club in the hopes of enjoying a round of golf. The forecast said it would be 8c by 3:00 this afternoon. The temperature was 5c when we arrived and the sun was shining brightly. We were lucky that it wasn't windy and the day turned out to be really quite nice. Our round of golf was fun. It was nice to have John and Grace and Lawrence and Teresa join us for this round.

On Tuesday Ralph and I decided to go and watch the eagles again. With the colder weather we didn't expect to see many birds at Huntington State Park so this was a better alternative. When we arrived at our regular viewing area, our friend Rick had just arrived as well. As we got out of our truck, Rick started shouting that something had flown into the tree and it wasn't another adult eagle. We rushed to get our cameras out to see what it was and we discovered that it was a juvenile eagle. He flew right onto a branch directly above the nest. Needless to say, the eagle sitting in the nest got very agitated and keep squawking trying to scare it away. The juvenile wasn't budging.

This went on for at least 45 minutes. We were surprised that the other adult didn't come right away but I guess it was quite far off hunting for food. When it flew back it didn't seem like it was in any hurry and it eventually flew into the tree but didn't see the juvenile right away.

The eagle sitting on the nest was very agitated and finally got the others attention. It was then that the intruder was observed. Sensing that it was time to leave, the juvenile took to the skies in an attempt to escape the punishment it would receive for being there (once they have fledged, they are no longer welcome near the nest). Rick shared with us that they have been known to hang around and try to get close to the nest however, if they had access to the young one sitting in it, they would kill it.

It was interesting to watch the adult chasing the juvenile. Both were very fast flyers (the juvenile looked to be about 2 years old). We anticipated some action in the sky however the chase ended with intruder flying away. Careful watch by the adults continued while we were there.

At one point both adults flew away from the nest (that surprised us) for a short period. When all the excitement calmed down we got to enjoy seeing the eaglet practice wing flaps in the nest. We were amazed that this was happening already. It is only 3 weeks old.

I should give mention to the other birds we saw as well. There was a Tundra swan swimming in the pond by the observation deck as well as a group of cormorants. There is a variety of ducks as well on the lake and I surprised a tree full of Night Shade herons when I went exploring. It was a fun day to be out.

On Wednesday we enjoyed another beautiful sunrise. I just love the colours in the sky and watching the birds rise up and fly all around as the sun is coming up. Ralph and I always say they are giving praise to God.

We enjoyed a nice round of golf on Thursday with John and Grace even though the temperatures were colder. Surprisingly it can get nice and warm with the sun shining if there is no wind. We golfed at The Pearl. Teresa and Lawrence had Liz and Ed visiting for a couple of days so they didn't join us.

On Friday we went back to Huntington to see what birds were out and about. We haven't been for a while so it was nice to get there. It's always exciting to see some new birds. We also enjoyed a nice game of Play Nine with Lawrence and Teresa and Ed and Liz. It was fun!!

Ruby Crowned Kinglet

Eastern Phoebe

Juvenile Moorhen

Juvenile Ibis

Great Egret

Green-winged Teal

Sunday was a quiet day. Lawrence and Teresa drove Ed and Liz to the airport and later joined us for coffee after church. I spent the afternoon walking the beach before returning for the 2nd service. It was such a beautiful day before the weather turns really cold that I wanted to enjoy it. I found about 20 sharks teeth along the beach. This was the largest one I found. I was pretty excited about this one.