My wife and I spent the weekend at a rather unique cabin on the southern flank of the Ozarks. The cabin was isolated in a beautiful little valley and built on stilts about 20 above the stream bed (which was just about dry this time of year). Really a unique setting, but hard to get a picture of the cabin because of the steapness of its setting and the trees blocked the best views. The picture doesn't really do it justice.
But what really it unique was on Saturday we hiked around some of the upland bluffs and I was doing some birding when I noticed two bald eagles flying low through a break in the trees. They came to roost on a dead oak and I was watching them for a while when my wife said I should check the large pine next to it. Several more sitting up there, then I noticed over two dozen sunning on the open ground below the two trees, then several more in surrounding trees. When I lowered the binos we noticed a boil of what I thought were vultures descending, and it turned out to be more eagles.
Mary and I counted and recounted several times, but with all the movement we couldn't get an absolute number. I got 46 twice, but it might have been a few more or less. Now 46 eagles in a relatively small ares isn't that unique in places like Alaska, but in northern Arkansas, it was quite a spectacle. I've seen a dozen or two in winter on some of our lakes, but never this many.
Than later that evening, I was sitting on the porch looking up at the large boulders in the valley around us when I heard that loud thumping pulse of a turkey flying in to roost for the night. Then a second followed close behind, than another, and another, and eventually 18 turkeys landed not 50 yards from us on the hillside! What a treat. I took this picture of exactly where they landed, but about five minutes before they arrived.
I tried to quietly reach for the camera after they landed, but with the vision and hearing they have, they all just vanished in a matter of seconds. I never heard a sound or saw any particular one move, but all of a sudden they had all crested the ridge and moved to another roosting tree for the night.
But later Duffis and Dorko showed up and were more than happy to sit and have their picture taken at close range. They seemed to enjoy the shrimp tails, but loved the gristle from the steak!
All in all, it was a great weekend, and 46 eagles in one spot and 18 turkeys in another are birding records for me.
Natch
But what really it unique was on Saturday we hiked around some of the upland bluffs and I was doing some birding when I noticed two bald eagles flying low through a break in the trees. They came to roost on a dead oak and I was watching them for a while when my wife said I should check the large pine next to it. Several more sitting up there, then I noticed over two dozen sunning on the open ground below the two trees, then several more in surrounding trees. When I lowered the binos we noticed a boil of what I thought were vultures descending, and it turned out to be more eagles.
Mary and I counted and recounted several times, but with all the movement we couldn't get an absolute number. I got 46 twice, but it might have been a few more or less. Now 46 eagles in a relatively small ares isn't that unique in places like Alaska, but in northern Arkansas, it was quite a spectacle. I've seen a dozen or two in winter on some of our lakes, but never this many.
Than later that evening, I was sitting on the porch looking up at the large boulders in the valley around us when I heard that loud thumping pulse of a turkey flying in to roost for the night. Then a second followed close behind, than another, and another, and eventually 18 turkeys landed not 50 yards from us on the hillside! What a treat. I took this picture of exactly where they landed, but about five minutes before they arrived.
I tried to quietly reach for the camera after they landed, but with the vision and hearing they have, they all just vanished in a matter of seconds. I never heard a sound or saw any particular one move, but all of a sudden they had all crested the ridge and moved to another roosting tree for the night.
But later Duffis and Dorko showed up and were more than happy to sit and have their picture taken at close range. They seemed to enjoy the shrimp tails, but loved the gristle from the steak!
All in all, it was a great weekend, and 46 eagles in one spot and 18 turkeys in another are birding records for me.
Natch
