Eagle Nest

Bald eagles are fairly common here in the Bear Lake Valley, but they usually disappear after the snow melts.  But, for the first time, I found a nest in a dead tree.

I got permission to access the private property where this is located, and learned from the land owner that the nest has been occupied for at least three years.  The eagles turned out to be fairly tolerant of photographers, and would occasionally stay on the nest, but more often would leave.

Would the eagles raise a family this year?  On my fifth visit I saw just one eagle, but she landed on the nest as if sitting on eggs, so I was hopeful.  It was interesting watching her land.  She flew in low and fast then soared straight up and stalled over the nest where she could settle down easily.

Today, on my sixth visit, there was just one eagle, and I think the other has gone away.  This one perched on the branch instead of the nest.  She flew away and returned in a few minutes with a small kill, but ate it on the back side of the tree where I couldn't get photos.  She made no effort to sit on the nest or share food, so I don't think there are any eggs.  Perhaps a recent storm with 65 mph winds ended their nesting for this year.  I look forward to checking next year to see if they return.

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Winter Wildlife

This has been a cold, snowy winter in the Bear Lake area.  Winters like this tend to drive the wildlife out of the hills to lower ground where food is easier to find.  We have had deer in our back yard eating our shrubs, and twice moose have spent time in town.  There have been plenty of opportunities for wildlife photos.

This bald eagle gave me the evil eye from a tree near Laketown, Utah.  I photographed an eagle just one tree away from this one a year ago.  Could it be the same bird?

A Mountain Cottontail at Cisco Beach didn't seem too concerned as he tried to keep a bush between us, and I finally got a few shots before he left.

Mule deer are everywhere, like this four point buck near Pegram, Idaho

Swans and ducks seem suspended in the mist of a warm farm pond in Round Valley.

People around here don't always sit at home with their feet to the fire during winter.

  Grab your camera and come to Bear Lake!