I made it back to my beloved lake for the first time.

[Ladyhawk]

Immature bald eagle, ospreys, snakes, oh my! I'll let you know the details when I'm not so wasted. I'm tired...caught a snake, talked my head off to a biologist from Brazil...tired...very tired, but satisfied. :)

[EstimatedProphet]

1. Where is this lake?

[tyedyeto]

2. Was it in Tuol. Co.?

Some very nice lakes there....been to quite a few of them.

[Ladyhawk]

3. Yes indeedy. Pinecrest Lake.

An immature bald eagle and two ospreys were harassing each other not far from me. :) I can tell ospreys from a distance or by their cries, but the large bird on the opposing side had me confused for at least a few minutes. At first I thought it must be a raven, but it was much larger than the ospreys and didn't have a wedged tail. Besides, when the sun caught it, I saw it was a mottled brown and white raptor. Redtail hawk? The tail was the wrong color and it was still far too big. Golden eagle? No...bald eagle! Yes! That must be it! An immature bald eagle!

It was MUCH bigger than the ospreys. Finally after a few more rounds, it winged off. After I figured out what it was, I watched it fly around the perimeter of the lake. When it made a dive to catch a fish, I knew for sure it was a bald eagle. The only raptors that fish the lakes are bald eagles and ospreys. It was really cool. It would have been cooler had I known immediately what I was looking at. :)

Woohoo! Bald eagle / osprey fight!

[tyedyeto]

4. I love Pinecrest.

Would spend a week there every year at Camp Sylvester with a bunch of Girl Scouts. Have also backpacked above it along the Stan. River.

I've seen a Golden eagle there but never a Bald. Sweet!!!!

[Ladyhawk]

5. w00t! You should come up and as soon as the lake warms up,

we can snorkel. Or something. :)

I also saw an osprey catch a trout right in front of me. :) I just read a fact that said ospreys catch their prey 50% of the time. Bald eagles aren't as good, so they harass ospreys into dropping the goods. :) I know there is an osprey nest very close to where the ospreys and eagle had their tiff. I wonder if they had food back at the nest and the eagle came in to get a bite?

[tyedyeto]

6. Sounds like fun...

I'll be in the area the end of August for my daughter's wedding. She's getting married at Lake Tulloch. When it gets closer I'll PM you so we can figure out a way to meet.

[Ladyhawk]

9. That would be great.

Lake Tulloch is interesting, too, with the Table Mountain background.

Get a load of this:



Look familiar at all? :D

[CaliforniaPeggy]

7. Good for you, Ladyhawk!

Getting out when you've been housebound must feel truly wonderful and liberating!

Sounds like you had a WONDERFUL day, too...Great sights...Did you take any pics? I'm so happy you had fun, and that you're now home, safe and sound.

I bet you'll sleep really well tonight!

:loveya:

[Ladyhawk]

8. I bet I'll sleep well tonight, too!

I had a GREAT day, CaliforniaPeggy! It felt great. I was all over the place, pointing out this or that, stopping anyone who would listen so I could tell my story about the bald eagle / osprey fight. I also saw an osprey dive into the water and make a catch. I was in heaven.

My mother was with me--technically, I'm still not supposed to drive--and I heard something go off the trail into some bamboo someone had planted. "Listen," I said, "something just skittered off the path. Listen...it sounds like it might be a snake!"

Then I spotted it: a mountain garter snake! Just from listening to the sound of scales on bamboo, I was able to deduce the animal was a snake and not a lizard, which are more common. Damn, I'm good. B-) I should have been a wildlife biologist.

A little further along the path along the perimeter of the lake, an elderly couple and I met. Because of my cervical collar, my range of motion is limited. It's hard to look down. The elderly gentleman and I nearly stepped on a good-sized Sierra garter snake on the path. The gentleman saw it first, stepped back and said, "Whoops...careful!"

I looked at it, said, "Cool!" and reached down to grab it. It rewarded me with enough musk to stink up the lounge. Yuck! That's stuff is very smelly...gack! Can you imagine the amount of musk an anaconda could produce?

Other than the musking, the snake was rather docile. I caught and held her very gently, letting her maneuver hand over hand. She didn't try to bite and after about five minutes she calmed right down and just enjoyed the warmth of my right hand. She was a nice specimen: a large, dark female with part of her tail missing.

The next folks along the path included a biologist from Brazil. The couple stopped to admire the snake and I gave them a long lecture on keeled scales, the reproductive habits of garter snakes and other snake facts. Of course, I couldn't pass up my "immature bald eagle" story and the lady biologist from Brazil confirmed my sighting. The eagle had flown over the couple while they were on the opposite end of the lake and she tentatively ID'd it as an immature bald eagle.

As an aspiring wildlife biologist, I decided to "talk shop" with her for awhile, asking about wildlife in Brazil and her study on whether or not electrical power fields had an adverse effect on fish. We talked for a long time. The garter snake was very happy to "hang out" in my right hand. She just sort of soaked up the warmth, occasionally flicking out her red and black tongue. 'Twas cool.

As for the osprey / bald eagle fight, I think the eagle might have tried to steal a fish from the ospreys back at their nest, which is right up the hill from where we saw the fight. Another fellow along the path said that ospreys are better at fishing than eagles. As a result, the larger eagles often bully the ospreys into dropping or giving up their catch. Tonight I found a statistic: ospreys are successful 50% of the time. Eagles tend to "skim" the water with their talons when they make a dive. Ospreys will plunge right into the water and can "dive" about four feet to snag their prey. I have never seen an eagle plunge into the water like that. Indeed, when the immature eagle made its dive on the other side of the lake, there was no splash. It must have merely stuck its talons into the water to attempt a catch.

During the fight, the eagle looked like it was harassing one of the ospreys. It wasn't the other way around! That's why my mind instantly went to "raven"--ravens hassle raptors all the time. The eagle kept flying after the osprey and extending its talons. Bald eagles will eat other birds, so it probably wouldn't have hesitated to make a meal of the osprey had the talons hit home. Luckily, the osprey was very agile and evaded the much larger eagle. When the second osprey joined the fray, the eagle took off for the opposite side of the lake.

I wonder...will the eagle hang around? Young eagles are obviously less experienced and probably experience more hunger than experienced eagles. This one was probably very hungry, tried to steal from the osprey nest, then tried to take out an osprey when the smaller raptors tried to defend their territory and nest. That's my take.

Osprey catching a fish:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

10. This is a very compelling story, Ladyhawk!

Pleasant Dreams!

:pals:

[Ladyhawk]

11. Thanks, CaliforniaPeggy!

You are one of DU's best...but you know that, don't you? :)

P.S. I still miss Jeff. Another DUer was kind enough to send me one of his bumper stickers. I have it on my refrigerator because I don't want it ruined. I want it as a momento to nostamj. I still can't believe that necrotizing fasciitis took him so quickly. The fact he was a diabetic isn't lost on me. Fellow diabetics: prick that finger! (I need to take my own advice.)

[CaliforniaPeggy]

12. My dear Ladyhawk! You are too kind...

People keep telling me how good I am...I can't quite believe it; I didn't hear it when I was a child, and those early impressions leave quite an imprint. But I thank you so much...

Yes, please take care of your diabetes! We want you around for a very long time, OK?

[Tsiyu]

13. Yeah, you better take care of yourself

Sounds like you had a very cool day. A day out like that puts a lot of problems in perspective.

Glad you enjoyed yourself. I hope you have many more pleasant days like this one.:)

[MiwSher]

14. Pinecrest Paradise

I'm so glad you finally got there. It's been too long and I know what the lake does for your spirit. And I think you have hit on your true calling, hmmm?

Hugs!

MiwSher