Eagle Cruise - What a Great Day!

Wayne and I enjoyed our annual Eagle Cruise on Kentucky Lake yesterday. While the temperatures were in the 30's, it didn't feel as cold on the deck taking photos as I though it would be - I tried to stay in some protected spots so I wasn't standing in the wind. With clothing four layers deep and a nice scarf to wrap over my head and neck, I spent quite a bit of time on the front and back decks taking photos of the 27 eagles we saw this year. Many others aboard, including Wayne, enjoyed watching from inside with their binoculars.

Previously we had seen most of the eagles sitting in trees. This year most of the eagles were flying. There were some immature ones sitting in trees in the coves - like they were trying to stay out of sight - I did get some photos of them though with my dandy 300 mm lens. There were lots of gulls flying along the boat, and we saw lots of coots - a favorite meal of the eagles (more on that later).

After the cruise we had dinner at the Ken Lake Lodge, which was followed by a great program by the Louisville Raptor Rehab group. They brought several raptors which have been injured and can't be returned to the wild, plus one beautiful barn owl they have raised and use for the educational program.

Before we even left the dock, we spotted an adult eagle sitting in the trees across the lake from the landing. Can you spot the adult eagle sitting in the trees? Hint: Look for the while head on a black body. The white birds you see flying are some gulls that seemed to follow us throughout the cruise.






Just after leaving the dock we spotted a peregrine falcon that has taken up residence in this big osprey nest on top of the bridge over Kentucky Lake. It's head is peaking out above the nest.







Here's the bridge... so that nest is way up there. The falcon has a bird's eye view.









After a while, you can spot the eagles pretty easy. This adult eagle was tucked into the trees.

It's fun to see them flying with their full-wing span. The wing span can reach seven feet.










There are two immature eagles sitting on the branch of this tree. They are a little fuzzy because this tree was back in a cove and it was quite a distance from the boat. Just look for two brown lumps sitting on the same branch.

We saw quite a few eagles flying along the tree line like this one.

This one looks like a missile flying into the trees.

They were soaring in groups - often they would fly away from us and then fly right back over the boat. They could have been performing their own symphony up there with the ease and grace that they were soaring.

Some of the coots who were swimming along the way became meals for the eagles. We saw this eagle swoop down alongside the boat to catch a coot - the coot was fast and went underwater. The eagle went up and swooped down to make another pass for the coot - again the coot went underwater. This time the eagle hovered like in this photo to wait for the coot to come up - when the coot came up, the eagle snatched it from the water and few off to a tree for a meal. The hovering was like watching someone tread water; it was amazing to watch.

Here is an American Coot - it's a water-dwelling bird that resembles a duck.

After watching the demise of the coot, we enjoyed the cruise back to dock, checking to see if some of the eagles were still sitting in the same spots... and some were.


After docking it was off to dinner at the Lodge. Then we saw some raptors in a program presented by the Raptor Rehabilitation of Kentucky, Inc. from Louisville. I'll share some of the photos I took of the raptors.

First we saw one of the smallest owls - the Saw-whet Owl that only weighed 3.3 oz.

Eileen Wicker talks about the Common Barn Owl.



The Turkey Vulture wanted to flap its wings - can't fly though because one wing was damaged at the joint.



After his performance, the Turkey Vulture sat down for a rest



This Golden Eagle had been caged for 18 years; they are nursing it back to health.
This was its first time to be taken out for their educational program.

The Golden Eagle gets its name from the gold feathers around its neck.

Check out the talons on the Golden Eagle.

Debbie handles the American Bald Eagle - it has a damaged wing.

Look at the beautiful coloring in the Bald Eagle's feathers.



What a beautiful day to go eagle watching. The other raptors were a bonus!
Thank you to the staff at Raptor Rehabilitation of Kentucky for
sharing their knowledge about the raptors with us.

 This morning (Feb. 6) was the final eagle cruise for this year. If you are interested in going on one of these cruises in 2012, contact http://www.kentuckylake.com/lbl/eagletours.htm or call 270-924-2020.

And here is another place for you to watch eagles online. It is the Nest Cam at Decorah, Iowa, near the fish hatchery. What smart birds to build their nest by a fish hatchery!

Here is the link: http://www.raptorresource.org/falcon_cams/index.html

They have a live camera that runs 24/7. Then you can also look at the hourly shots posted. Right now the Decorah eagles are getting their nest ready - shredding corncobs for nesting material. Last year we watched from the time their eggs were laid in February until the three young eagles left the nest in August. It's a great educational tool for your children and grandchildren to watch. 

This photo is from the daily stills at Decorah.

Happy Eagle Watching!

Visit with the Eagles on Kentucky Lake - February 6, 2010

Every year Wayne and I enjoy a February cruise on Kentucky Lake to see the American Bald Eagles. Yesterday we had a great time on the cruise, which is sponsored by the Kentucky State Parks and Kentucky Wildlife & Conservation Department. They have staff on board as guides and to answer questions.

We cruised in style aboard the CQ Princess, which is normally docked in Louisville. They bring this yacht to the lakes in January/February for the eagle cruises.

We saw 29 eagles, lots of ducks and geese, herons, and other birds. It wasn't sunny but at least it wasn't raining (like last year). I took my camera with the 300mm lens and an extender so I could get better shots of the eagles. It was worth the price of the cruise to see a female sitting on a nest and the male eagle sitting on a branch nearby. We were able to view it in 270 degrees since the nest was in the top of a tree that was on a peninsula. I was able to shoot lots of photos.

This was my first view of the nest, using my long lens to see the male eagle sitting on a branch, while the female sits on the nest. The captain slowed down the boat so we could go by very slowly.

How about this view? You can see the female tucked behind the crooked branch.

Now the boat is almost on the other side of the nest - the female (on the left) has hopped off the nest. Did you know that female eagles are 20-30% larger than the male eagles. And this is one type of bird where the male and female look alike - he doesn't get all of the pretty feathers.

An immature eagle - see the speckled head and breast. They don't have a white head until they are about 5 years old.

This young eagle is older than the one in the previous photo. See how it has more white on his head?

Another eagle nest that was tucked back into a group of trees. The other two nests we saw were closer to the water.

An adult American Bald Eagle. We saw 29 eagles in all; 15 were immature, 2 we couldn't tell, and the other 12 were adults. You can't miss the adults with their big white heads.

Two immature eagles sit in this tree on the point. See how they look like a big black blob sitting in the tree. They are so big that they are easy to spot once you know what you are looking for.

There were some eagles soaring close to our boat just as we were finishing our cruise. Look at that wing span.

Another nest that was close to the water.

Another eagle soaring - the staff called this one the greeter, it's the first eagle we saw as we left the dock and the last one we saw when we returned. He stays in a group of trees just across from the boat dock.

Part of this Visit with the Eagles program was an evening talk on Raptors (Birds of Prey) by Dale and John Stokes. They are associated with S.O.A.R. - Save our American Raptors. From May to September they present programs at the Rock City Raptors Birds of Prey at Rock City near Chattanooga, Tennessee. During the rest of the year, the give programs at schools and at state parks. All of the birds they display have been "humanized" - that is they have been raised by humans (and often depend then on humans for their food) or have been injured and cannot be released back to the wild.

I took a few photos, but they asked us not to use any flash, so the lighting isn't the best. You can see what the birds look like anyway.

Many of us have probably heard Screech Owls - here is what they look like. These two small owls are the only birds that live together at their sanctuary for these birds of prey.

The barn owl has such a funny shaped face.

This broad-winged hawk flew very fast...and this one came right over my head, parting my hair it was so close. But I got his picture anyway. Phew, that was close.

Red-tailed hawk has such beautiful coloring. I didn't get a photo of his back, but the back and tail feathers are really pretty. We have one of these hawks that torments the squirrels in our back yard (and catches one of them sometimes).

This black vulture flew back and forth over the heads of the audience. BIG bird.

This American Bald Eagle was rescued after being shot; his wing had to be removed as a result of that shot. Still a beautiful bird, but can never be released to the wild again. (The bald eagle is the bird up front...not the head you see in the photos...grin.)

There were people on this cruise from all over. If you are ever going through Kentucky in late January or early February, be sure to check out the Eagle Cruises through the Kentucky State Parks. We are really glad that they have this program and enjoy cruising to see the eagles every year!