I've been keeping an eye on the skies over the lake, and haven't seen very many eagles lately. Looking through my photos from the last year or so, they tend to be scarce for the first few months of the year, and then they return in late spring. The same thing happened this year.

Last night I saw several eagles flying around outside my window: 1-2 adult bald eagles, and 2-3 immature bald eagles. I almost wonder if they are off nesting during the time when they disappear, but I can't think that the immature eagles I'm seeing now are that young. Plus, if they were nesting, I would expect there to be a nest or two in Marymoor park (maybe there is, I've never seen any evidence of one).  

Oh well, I'm just happy that they're back! I got maybe one decent shot last night (hey, I'm out of practice!)

The weather is getting much nicer now, so hopefully I'll start getting some good photo opportunities again soon.

Because it's time for baby birds!

A few weeks ago, I was driving past the Redmond Town Center (the mall in Redmond), and saw an unusual number of Great Blue Herons sitting in a tree across the street. There's a small pond there, and a bit of a wetland area that the bike trail runs through.

Soon after, Jenny and I saw a few Herons flying back and forth with sticks - they were building nests! It wasn't long before the nests were built, and all you could see was the occasional eye sticking through the twigs.

The weather has been pretty lousy here - cloudy, overcast, rainy (in Seattle - really??), so I haven't made it over to the nest very often, but I occasionally slow down as I drive past to see if there's any activity (to Jenny's protests). Once or twice we heard clucking sounds coming from the general area, but never saw any baby Herons...until this weekend!

The weather still wasn't great, but I did manage to get some good shots of the lower nest, where there are four baby Herons. They might be as much as a month old (I'm not sure), so they're actually pretty big - and goofy looking. They stay pretty well out of sight until food arrives, and then they go crazy! The upper nest has three chicks (I think). They didn't get fed while i was there, so it's hard to tell. There is another nest in the larger tree that borders the pond, but it's harder to see what's going on in it because of the location.

It seems like one Heron sits and watches the kids, while the other one hunts for food. When it shows up, it feeds the little ones, and the one that has been standing watch takes a turn at hunting for food.

I'd estimate that these little guys are about the size of chickens already. I can't imagine they'll all fit in the nest much longer at the rate they're growing.

After eating, they are pretty wound up for awhile, and roughhouse with each other for a bit until they settle back down.

I read somewhere that they take their first flight from the nest at around 60 days. They spend a lot of time flapping their wings, so they're eager to get going!

Hopefully the weather will improve soon...I'll keep trying to get good photos!