Vendors Relax on Boat at Kentucky Lake...and more

I thought you all would get a kick out of this tape from WPSD TV Local 6 about the vendors who stayed on an 80 foot houseboat at Kentucky Lake, and about the fancy portalets that we had behind the Pavilion this year.

Click here to view the tape.

Bonnie B

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!

Progress Report - Limbs & Sticks from Ice Storm

My sister, Karen Franzen, and her son, Mike, drove down from Iowa on Wednesday. They helped Andi & Dennis Affholter drive their car back to Paducah; Dennis was loading the last of their furnishings from their home in Keota. Karen and Mike spent all day Thursday and until noon on Friday helping Wayne get the last of our sticks picked up. They worked on the pine trees in the side yard, and burned several of our piles of sticks. We only have six piles in the back yard left, plus the piles in the front yard that the county is supposed to pick up. If they don't, we'll burn those too. Thanks, Karen and Mike! It would have taken Wayne and me all summer to get those sticks picked up.

Here's a photo of Mike on the dock at Kentucky Lake. The crappie were really biting. Yummmm, crappie is my favorite fresh fish. And when you catch a mess of 55 of them like these guys did, that is some good eating. And what is prettier than a view of Kentucky Lake in the late afternoon. Even the birds knew fish were being cleaned, as they hovered overhead waiting for the remains.

These are the tree piles of sticks that we burned on Thursday night. We took a break and went to Kentucky Lake and then to Catfish Kitchen in Draffenville for supper. It took until after 1:00 a.m. to get them burned down so Mike and Wayne could go to bed. We only burn two piles at a time and we keep the hose out there to water down the grass around the piles. Some parts of our grass are really. On Friday, the State ordered a "no burn ban" from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, until further notice. There have been people who started fired and it got away from them and burned whole fields or buildings down. We keep a watch on ours when we start them.

Here is what is left in the front yard. The county is supposed to come pick up piles that are next to the street. They use a piece of equipment that has a big pincher that scoops up these piles and drops them in a big truck to take to the tree disposal yard to be chipped into mulch. Do you think the price of mulch will go down because there is so much available? We'll see.

Fall Trip to the Elk & Bison Prairie

Wayne and I always love to take a trip to see the leaves. Yesterday we invited Andi Reynolds, our new Executive Book Editor at AQS, to join us for a trip to the Elk & Bison Prairie at Land Between the Lakes (that's between Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley) about 40 minutes from here. They have 32 elk and 69 bison on the prairie and I think we must have seen all of them.

We go so we arrive their about 4:30 p.m. when the animals start moving to the watering holes and feeding. You can also go at 7:00 a.m. but that's too early for me.

If you come to the Paducah area, it is a nice drive to get there, and the drive through the prairie is picturesque. We usually drive around at least three times because the animals move from one grazing area to another. We've been there enough now that we know most of the spots to look for them. I hope you enjoy my photos of our day at the Elk & Bison Prairie.

While the color in most of our trees hasn't been very vibrant this year in this area, the reds and yellows show up nice behind this elk. You can see how tall the prairie grasses get too.

This bull elk had a pretty nice rack.

Here is number 32 and her friends grazing under the trees. All of the elk have been tagged.

This group of females couldn't decide which way to go. The bull elk was way off to the right, and I think they didn't want to get too far from him so they went across the road and back again. We did get to hear one good bugle from one of the bull elk. I guess he was protecting his ladies.

We see other animals there too. Yesterday we saw a pair of turkeys just walking through the tall grasses. We also saw a pretty heron...but I was too slow on the trigger to get his picture.

Here's part of the herd spending the afternoon soaking up the sun. There were quite a few small ones among the group. Several were having fun rolling around in the dirt.

Sometimes the traffic had to stop and wait for the bison to cross the road. This one stood there for quite a while...like he was saying, "whose road is this anyway?"

This big fella was walking right along side our car...I was standing up through the moonroof on our car so I could shoot photos. Don't you wonder what he was thinking seeing this woman in a red sweatshirt taking his picture?

Adult & Immature Eagles

This is an adult and an immature eagle. It is very easy to tell the difference even when they are flying -- the white head of the adults make them stick out like a beacon. We could spot the adults with the naked eye -- without binoculars or camera lens. Sometimes it was harder to spot the immature eagles if they were among the trees by themselves because they blend into the background.

When I used my 300x zoom, it was like they were right next to me.

Adult Eagle Soaring

Some of the eagles flew not far from the boat. I shot this one from the back deck.

They told us the wing span can be 72" from tip to tip. I was surprised at how the feathers separate on the tips of the wings.

Eagle Landing

Adult eagle coming in for landing. It's always fun to download your photos because you never know exactly what is on the camera when you are shooting wildlife. This one was a surprise.

Eagle Cruise on Kentucky Lake

Today Wayne and I went on the Eagle Cruise at Kentucky Lake. We saw more than 30 eagles. My, what magestic bird they are. Did you know that the female eagle is larger than the male? I don't know if this is a male or female -- would have to see them together to know.

We went on the CQ Princess double decker boat, and we could watch from inside through the large windows or go outside on the deck. I spent about an hour outside shooting photos. I sure was glad that I took along my neck scarf to wrap over my head to keep my ears warm - it was only about 40 degrees. Gloves were a must too. We also enjoyed a nice lunch on the cruise.

If you are ever in the vicinity of Kentucky Lake in January or February, this is a fun way to spend the day. And if you haven't been to see the Elk & Bison Prairie at the Land Between the Lakes, that is just down the road from where you board the boat.