While looking for signs of turtles on an overcast, muggy afternoon, I stopped and spoke with someone taking pictures of wildlife, who had just observed an eagle take off from a perch close to the Information Centre at Elizabeth Lake. He thought that it had landed close to shore, and might be feeding on birds' eggs.

As I made my way to the far side of the lake, I was on the lookout for any signs of a bald eagle. But everything appeared normal with no signs of any danger for the many birds on and near the water. As I approached the wooden hide, I caught sight of two patches of white near the top of a conifer close to the shore about 200 meters away. Even from that distance I could tell it was a bald eagle, so I moved slowly and deliberately to within 100 meters, where I took this shot. After observing the bald eagle for a few minutes, I tried to get to a closer vantage point, but the eagle flew off in a southernly direction along the shoreline.

While waiting to see if the bald eagle would reappear, I noticed a movement among the cattails by the water. Within a few moments not one but two muskrats appeared swimming towards the lake. As I continued to watch, they reappeared as if swimming through the cattails in a circle. In the next few minutes they swam back and forth several times. Nature never ceases to amaze me.

Stewart you are having better luck catching site of that eagle than I am. I've only spotted her a couple of times flying overhead. I am still trying to determine exactly where she heads when she leaves the lake area and from what I can see it's always on the west side of the highway. It may be a lone eagle but if there is a nest I'd love to find it so that we can keep it documented and observed from the ground.

And, wasn't that an amazing rescue of Flyer on Thursday. You will have lots to share with the students on Tuesday. All the video Richard did, and David's report of the rescue, will remain on our Home page for awhile yet.

I see the local Townsman picked up the news of Flyer being trapped so I wrote to let them know he was already rescued and free so that they can update their news in the next edition.

Have a good long weekend.

So where's a good place to get a panoramic view of Cranbrook, where you can also see lots of wild flowers at this time of year? I took my daughter and her friend, who were visiting from out of town, to a hill above Elizabeth Lake just off McDonald. I was last there on May 5 on my ride back from Jim Smith Lake. Today the balsam root plants were out in all their glory. Despite the windy, overcast conditions, it was a rewarding trip.

Another favorite spot to visit at this time of year is the Marysville Falls. Compare today's picture to the entry on February 27 on page 4, which shows two contrasting shots, one taken on May 5, 2007, and the other in December, 2010.

Good Morning G.T.

Thought you might like to see a close up picture of Flyer on the day he was rescued at Sidney. She was 5 weeks old in this picture.

Click on the picture to make it bigger.



And here is a view on top of the Sidney nest.

Happy Friday GT

Check out page 25 of the local Daily Townsman today

Hi Judy,

Thanks for the latest information on Flyer. We discussed the rescue in class during Circle Time. Needless to say, everyone was delighted to hear that he is none the worse for his experience.