Elle, Wow, those are some awesome photos you caught of Pa. I love the one with him diving for a fish with the gorgeous red freighters in the background. Thanks also for the information you received from the farmer about Ma and Pa mating. I will be watching for the video/videos my friend.

Thanks to all for keeping us updated on our beloved Ma and Pa Sidney.

Birdsie, It is so great to hear from you my friend. I miss seeing your posts. I hope you are well.

elle.......

Once again you got some beauties Elle! Keep em coming please and

Excellent pictures of pa Elle sure do miss watching my favourite eagle pair nesting but I keep coming here so I can see them through your lense

Thanks to all you lovely ladies.

Linda: Those "red freighters" are our Canadian Coast Guard ships ( no comment necessary )

Debbie: All photos are welcome. You must take and post some next time you visit. I don't have a " leaf blower" size camera lens either. ( that's what some of us affectionately call Hikerbikergram/Linda's really good camera and she is such a good sport about it ) I don't even have interchangeable small and big lens. Just a 35x zoom that is great at the right distance but I always try to keep a respectful distance from Ma and Pa and do not intentionally harass them by trying to get too close and so most of the time even a 35x zoom renders a passable at best photo. Ma and Pa's comfort is more important than a photo though. Better equipment may come some day for both of us, eh? In the meantime you are all very kind.

elle, I like the pic of Pa taking off from the beach tree; such a determined look. You said you saw both Ma & Pa; did you take any pics of Ma? It woud be nice to compare her size to pics taken a few weeks ago

PS: One of the main reasons photographers/birders use big lenses is so they can get a close-up shot while keeping a safe distance from the bird. Too many people assume a photographer is right in the face of the bird when they see a good close-up shot, when in actual fact the photographer is using a good zoom lens and a good camera that takes high resolution pics that can be cropped without losing too much clarity. The Canon PowerShot 35X optical zoom lens will give you 840mm optical zoom when converted to 35mm equivalent, which is quite a distance for a very good small camera

Hi Kay and thanks. Sorry no pix of Ma. When we were at the beach we saw her fly by inland from the south and across the reserve and when she flew passed Pa who was perched at the beach at the time he called to her That was all we saw and we didn't get a pic or a vid as she was much too far away. She headed for the new nest and I wouldn't be surprised if she has laid her first egg since we were there 2 days ago. I do hope so because at this time last year I am quite sure she had already laid an egg.
Ian and I have noticed all the monitored eagle nests seem to be really built up at the sides this year. Very deep bowls and hard to tell if anyone is in there. Ian says it could be because they are sick and tired of us humans gawking at them or perhaps because they are expecting extreme windy weather. We do know many of the eagle pairs from cammed nests have picked up stakes and built new nests elsewhere. And we do know we have had ferocious winds and more are predicted. So . Could be a bit of both. Wild eagles, by nature, do not like to be looked at and are not comfortable with any human presence, interference or interaction. Urban eagles have had to adapt and seem to be more habituated but I am not sure they ever truly really like it.
Having said that, I do know why people who take pictures of wildlife have big camera lenses and I hope everyone else does too.It gives them a lot of respectful space. My 35x zoom Canon suits most of my purposes right now and that is why I got it. Naturally at times I wish I could get in closer to the subject and still be discreet and respectful and have clarity but I just can't. The pictures I took the other day of Pa were taken at very long range and too far for my camera to take a really nice clear pic like a better camera would afford but I also like to be very mobile in uneven sometimes remote and wet and very slippery terrain and lots of camera equipment would cramp that style. So it is a good choice right now for me and I( we ) have to accept the limitations of that choice. Thanks to y'all for your appreciation. Maand Pa will have soon and I'll do my part to bring as much of that experience to you as I can. I know Kay will too.

Thank you Elle for that great report. Many of your thoughts (as usual) echo mine. While the eagles do not know we are there behind the camera, or should not be able to know, they seem to. We should not ever underestimate their senses.

The huge sides could also be as you stated due to knowing winds will be very strong. Time will tell. So much of wildlife has abilities we do not fathom (goes for pets too). We can live and learn and grow.
carolyn

I love the respectful pictures taken of Ma and Pa! Yeah for eaglets too.