A few weeks ago, I took a quick scouting visit to Jordan Lake to see how many Bald Eagles had arrived. I was pleased to see a few dozen but was hoping that there would be more.
These gorgeous birds are really fun to watch hunt and squabble for a meal. As seen in the last few photos in this post, sometimes they can lose a catch just by landing on the wrong branch at the wrong time lol!
Jordan Lake is home to more than 20 pairs of nesting Bald Eagles that call this beautiful lake home throughout the year. The Haw River which flows out the lake to the south is host to a large population of migratory Eagles during the wintertime. From what I’ve observed in the past few years, this large flock can grow to 100 birds is mainly made up of un-paired adults and juveniles.
Adult Bald Eagles are accomplished anglers and are able to zero in on their prey from over 30 feet above the water. Once they commit to a fish, they bring their legs forward curling their body into a C position as their talons line up in line with their eyes in a dead focused triangle. The precision displayed in the moment that they strike their quarry is remarkable!
With a catch rate numbering in the 10% range, the younger ones are still learning the fine art of fishing but it’s really neat to watch their skills progress over the season. Most of their misses seem to come from the juveniles not bringing their legs up high enough to better focus that narrow the shot range. As with the case with many of us, they will fail over and over again, learning along the way until they are as accomplished as their elders 😉
A cople of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of making a quick trip up to the Audubon Observation Deck at the Jordan Lake State Recreation Area to see what I could find.
Upon arriving, I was rewarded with a couple of Bald Eagle sightings right off the bat. It was absolutely awesome to see these majestic birds soaring right above my head!
After spending a few minutes on the dock, I headed up the coastline to check out the action in the cove area. The coolest things I found were a pair of Black Vultures dining on a catfish and a huge Red-tailed Hawk!
My only regret when making this video was that the wind was blowing really hard so the audio quality isn’t me best. That being said, I think you’ll enjoy the clips above anyway 🙂
Here are a couple of my favorite photos from the morning…
Red-tailed HawkJuvenile Bald Eagle
One of the nice things about the Audubon Observation Deck is that there is no gate restricting access to the dock or shoreline of Jordan Lake. With all of the recent park closures going on, it’s nice to find a spot we can go to get some perfectly legal exercise (social distancing -while wearing bins, carrying a scope or camera of course).
Here is a map below of how to get to the Audubon Observation Deck…
Happy birding!
-Sally
PS. For more places you can go birding without fear of being locked out, check out this post of my no-gates, no problem location list!
All photos and video were captured with my mighty Canon 5DS. If you are interested in getting shots like these with this 50 MP beast of a camera, please check out the link below to Canon USA.
Birdwatching NC is sponsored by Canon USA and I am proud to be a Canon shooter. After 13 years of trusting my professional photography business to Canon’s line of products, I cannot recommend this company strongly enough. If you have have any questions about my gear, shoot me a message!
Recently I made a trip to Jordan Lake dam to check out a large flock of migrating Bald Eagles. When I arrived I observed around 20 birds roosting in the trees overlooking the Haw River. I found a spot along the river bank to sit so that I could pictures of the birds as they took turns dropping down to the water to catch fish.
The morning light was fierce and the conditions weren’t great for photos since the sunlight was reflecting brightly off of the water. Still, it was nice to just be out there enjoying the Eagles as they flew overhead.
Then, a juvenile Eagle flew straight towards me and landed on a branch right above my head. At first he didn’t notice my presence. The moment he saw me was amazing, lol! He turned his head and squinted, screeched and flew off! Luckily I managed to snap off a few shots of this encounter before he left. What a cool bird!
During the wintertime, Jordan Lake boasts one of the highest populations of Bald Eagles in the East coast. The resident birds hang out in the other part of the lake as most of the migrants tend to congregate near the dam. It’s really neat to see so many Eagles in one spot!
I’m excited to report that I’ve teamed up with the ARMY Corps of Engineers to help monitor Bald Eagle nests at Jordan Lake for the 2020 season. 🦅 This is a team effort, a joint project between the public & private (volunteer) sector to collect nesting data for breeding Bald Eagles at Jordan Lake. My duties will include spending at least 4 hours a month watching nests and taking behavioral notes as the birds raise their families.
Due to the efforts made by the ARMY Corps of Engineers along with Eagle lovers like you and me, Jordan Lake now boats the one of the highest populations of nesting Bald Eagles on the east coast. Every year brings a new generation of these incredible birds into the world (like the two youngsters featured in these photographs) and I couldn’t be happier. It’s amazing to see how their nesting pair numbers have grown from zero in the 1980’s to now. Today, nearly every large body of water here in N.C. has at least an Eagle or two living nearby. I’ve even started seeing them commonly hunting for fish at smaller ponds and lakes like Yates Mill Pond and Bass Lake Park here in the Triangle. Remarkable!
I’m so excited, can’t wait to get some great photos, learn new things, and contribute to the conservation efforts of protecting these incredible birds.
A pair of Bald Eagles at a new nest at Jordan Lake Park
Found a new *possible* Bald Eagle nest this morning while birding at Jordan Lake. Not going to say where it’s at exactly, but I’m very happy to see these two!
This is the time of year that Bald Eagles start laying their eggs, but I’m thinking that this pair haven’t started their clutch yet. Both birds rarely sat still and were busy arranging sticks and rummaging around in the nest.
I’ve reported my find to the ARMY Corps of Engineers nesting project for confirmation of possible new listing & I’ll be returning to the site over the next week to double check that this is indeed an active nest. Very cool to see these large raptors thriving in central NC. Looking forward to seeing what happens!
I’m excited to report that I’ve teamed up with the ARMY Corps of Engineers to help monitor Bald Eagle nests at Jordan Lake for the 2020 season. 🦅 This is a team effort, a joint project between the public & private (volunteer) sector to collect nesting data for breeding Bald Eagles at Jordan Lake. My duties will include spending at least 4 hours a month watching nests and taking behavioral notes as the birds raise their families.
Due to the efforts made by the ARMY Corps of Engineers along with Eagle lovers like you and me, Jordan Lake now boats the one of the highest populations of nesting Bald Eagles on the east coast. Every year brings a new generation of these incredible birds into the world (like the two youngsters featured in these photographs) and I couldn’t be happier. It’s amazing to see how their nesting pair numbers have grown from zero in the 1980’s to now. Today, nearly every large body of water here in N.C. has at least an Eagle or two living nearby. I’ve even started seeing them commonly hunting for fish at smaller ponds and lakes like Yates Mill Pond and Bass Lake Park here in the Triangle. Remarkable!
I’m so excited, can’t wait to get some great photos, learn new things, and contribute to the conservation efforts of protecting these incredible birds.
To learn more , check out the link below. Here you will find information about the programs efforts across the United States.
Bald Eagle Recovery Efforts at Corps of Engineers Projects
Had a fun morning of birding with Heather Russell of @ncbirdnerd at the Ebenezer Recreation Area Jordan Lake in Apex, N.C. today!
Hoping to see some Bald Eagles, we started off at the Observation Deck at Martha’s Chapel Rd. Right off the bat a juvenile Eagle flew right over us as soon as we hit the dock.
I wish we could have stuck around longer, but unfortunately it was super foggy there. So, we headed a few miles south to check out the Ebenezer Church Recreation Area to see if we could spot some Warblers. At first, all was quiet. There were a few Chickadees, Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Titmice moving about but that was about it.
Then, another birder in the area (Ann Brice) called out to us to come check out the action at a small tree near the water. There were a ton of small birds bouncing in and out of the branches, so cool! We stood there and watched a mixed flock of Warblers, Sparrows, Titmice, Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Chickadees for nearly an hour before they moved out of view. In all, I listed 18 species in about an hour which was a nice surprise given the weather conditions!
Here is my eBird list…
699 Ebenezer Rd, New Hill US-NC (35.7081,-79.0273) Oct 29, 2019 9:57 AM Stationary 60 Minutes All birds reported? Yes Comments: Submitted from eBird for iOS, version 1.9.6 Build 18
Better yet, I GOT TO MEET THE NCBIRDNERD!!! Heather Russell is a joy to go birding with.
She’s knowledgeable, friendly and so nice to be around. I’ve been
conversing with her on Instagram for a while and have always admired her
photography & bird wisdom. It was just awesome to spend the
morning with someone who totally gets what it’s like to be birding all
the time, lol! Even when driving, haha!
If you haven’t already, please go follow Heather on Instagram at @ncbirdnerd Her photos are freak’n gorgeous! Also, she’s taken over the @audubon_nc Instagram account this week so be sure to give them a follow too. 🍁
These photos are of one of the Yellow-rumped Warblers that we saw this
morning. I liked the side facing pics the best but also included the
classic butter-butt shot (lol!) as he flew off into the brush.
During the warmer months, the Yellow-rumped Warbler mainly preys on
insects. The ones I saw today were on an insect eating rampage,lol!
They glean caterpillars, larvae, spiders, and other invertebrates from
leaves, or zip out from perches like a flycatcher to nab aerial insects
such as craneflies and gnats.
When insect food is scarce during the winter here in North Carolina, the Yellow-rumped Warbler switches to fruit, including wax myrtle berries. Its ability to digest the waxy coating of berries allows the Yellow-rumped Warbler to winter farther north than other warbler species. Unlike many Warbler species, they’ll even visit backyard feeders occasionally for seed, suet, and fruit. I’m really looking forward to getting better pics this winter once the leaves are gone. Hopefully that will make photographing these little gems a bit easier.
If you’d like to visit the Ebenezer Church Recreation Area too, my advice is to arrive at 8am as soon as the gates open and head all the way down to the parking lot at the end of the road right at the waters edge. There are tons of cool birds here all year round.
While birding at Jordan Lake in Apex North Carolina, an Osprey flew in and landed in a tree right next to me. Fish in claw, he proceed to eat his catch with no concerns about my presence.
A
common sight along many of North Carolina’s lakes and rivers, Ospreys
are sometimes known as “Fish Hawks”. This is because they are superb
hunters of all that swims below the surface.
Built for success,
they have elongated wings for diving, long legs, sharp talons for
grasping prey and keen eyesight to spot fish from a great distance while
hovering. I had watched this bird make two failed attempts before he arose from the water with a fish in hand (foot). It was pretty cool to see him up close when he came in for a landing!
While sitting on the shoreline of Jordan Lake
yesterday, an Osprey flew in. He landed in a tree right next to me and
ate his breakfast! Yah, it’s kinda gross to watch but it was interesting to see up close.
The
Osprey dines exclusively on live fish. They capture their meals by
hovering over the water at an altitude of up to 200 feet, then dive
feetfirst into the water to catch their prey. Osprey talons are
uniquely adapted to the art of fishing from the air.” Each foot has a
reversible front toe, as well as barbs (called spicules), which help it
hold onto a slippery fish when flying or eating. I’m sure that feature came in handy as the fish here was flipping around while the Osprey was ripping it apart.
Finally got a decent photograph of a brown-headed Nuthatch at Jordan Lake! Have you ever heard the sound of what seems to be a squeaky toy emanating from the treetops here in North Carolina? You may have just had an encounter with a brown-headed Nuthatch too!
This bird’s diminutive size and active lifestyle make it tough to spot, but once you know what to look and listen for, you’ll realize it is a common year-round resident throughout our state’s pine woods.
By virtue of their strong, sharp claws, brown-headed Nuthatches are capable of crawling head-first down the trunk of trees as easily as going up. Their coloration creates perfect camouflage against the tree trunks that the birds can be found foraging on, in search of seeds and insects.
This one was rather friendly and don’t didn’t mind one bit that I was taking his picture. It was neat to be able to see one of these lovely birds at such a close range!
Photo by @sally_siko Canon 5DS Jordan Lake, Apex NC
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