Spring has Sprung, here

[ClayPick]

Things are finally getting under way here. The Crocuses and Tulips are underway.





One of the local mating pairs made it through the winter. Seeing them on the nest today just about makes spring.

[crashdive123]

Great pictures.

[Rick]

Yes they are. Bald Eagles are just beginning to make a decent come back around here. There are several mated pairs in the area but the sitings a still pretty rare. I envy you having so many in your back yard.

[Sparky93]

I saw a bald eagle while out fishing a couple weeks ago, round here they are fairly rare but as Rick said they are making a come back.

[Rick]

I talked to the regional biologist a couple of years ago and reported a siting to him. He told me that they fly the nesting sites every spring and photograph them to determine how many eggs/chicks they have. The do it state wide in an effort to keep track of the numbers. We saw an eaglet and mother out flying, which was pretty cool. They are nested a couple of miles south of my house.

[intothenew]

[ClayPick]

The most rewarding thing is having been around long enough to see them make it back from the brink. Nesting pairs get relocated to the US on occasion. They winter on the Bay of Fundy which gives them massive food reserves at low tide. The poultry farmers played a big part also. During the winter they started putting out the chicks and chickens that died of natural causes for the birds of prey. It’s nothing now to see 30 or 40 eagles feeding on tommy cod that get trapped in the ice flows. I would be a rich man if I was given to collecting feathers.

[letslearntogether47]

It's been rather cool here in Ma. but that's about to change for a few days.
The poor folks running the Boston Marathon will have to deal with near 90 deg. conditions.
I suspect there's going to be a lot of emergency situations if people push themselves in this weather.

[Rick]

Everything about the eagle is protected here in the States. You can't even own a feather without a permit.

http://www.fws.gov/faq/featherfaq.html

[ClayPick]

Here to. The fine is steep enough that it's not worth having them. They tend to pirch at the same places and leave them on the ground. Lice clean them up surprisingly fast.

[RealPreppersWearPurple]

I got a few mosquito bites tonight

[Rick]

What did you use for bait?

[RealPreppersWearPurple]

My far ***.

[Darkevs]

Beautiful photos!!

Thanks for sharing!

Wild coltsfoot! awesome!

coltsfoot flowers and leaves are a great natural expectorant for respiratory issues.

[intothenew]

[intothenew]

[Daniel Nighteyes]

Well, here in SoCal, Spring has sprung a leak. Our "rainy" season got off to a very late start and may actually extend into June. Normally it begins in October and runs thru February. Everything is very green right now, especially the hills. They are usually "dead-brown" from March thru October. The grass in our yard is almost growing faster than I can trim it.

Great pic of the Bald Eagle! I've only seen a handful in the wild, and only one that was close. Around here the Golden Eagles are staging a pretty impressive comeback. My wife and I have spotted three of 'em in, or over, our little community since January. Two were juveniles. Last Sunday, in a scene reminiscent of the movies Memphis Belle and Twelve O'Clock High, we spotted an airborne juvenile Golden Eagle being harassed by about half a dozen crows. Impressive combat maneuvering by all involved.

Most of our airborne raptors look like this:

Red-tailed-Hawk-in-flight2.jpg

[Daniel Nighteyes]

Oops, somehow it got "thumbnailed" twice ...

[intothenew]

[ClayPick]

Spring comes late to the north east but we get it back on the other end.

Rhodora




Bog Laurel