Steadfastly Ernest

Four round trips across the 520 Bridge this week, and on five of those legs we saw Ernest on the lamp post. He's looking a bit disheveled again....and we cannot blame it on frisky eaglets harrying our boy. His feathers are a little rumpled, but he is still magnificent sitting there above the bridge. Haven't seen Ethel lately. But the fact that Ernest has been around tells us she is in the area. After all, she is his raison d'etre. Winter is just around the corner for us. Mornings are frosty now. The sun has been glorious this week, but we know the gray, the drizzle, and the long dark winter are awaiting us. Six or so more weeks of ever-shortening days before we reach the darkest time in late December. People don't realize how far North we are here. North of the northern tip of Maine. North of Quebec City. So we pay dearly in loss of light in the winter. But come summer we enjoy over 19 hours of daylight in mid June through early July. Looking forward to a little snow here, we hope. It brightens up our winter days so much when the world turns white and fluffy.

Ernest....and a Long-Billed Curlew

Two trips over the 520 Bridge this week. On Tuesday morning Ernest was on the light standard, keeping watch. What is it about these birds that just totally makes a day worthwhile for catching sight of them. It was election day. We didn't know at that point how things would turn out, and seeing Ernest up there on his light post gave some reassurance that the world would keep spinning no matter what happened with the fickle American electorate. (I will admit that the final outcome was even more reassuring, but perhaps shouldn't disclose that sentiment....) Today another trip across the bridge and while there was no eagle either direction, there was one really amazing sight. A Long-Billed Curlew was on a light standard at mid-span! I had to look him up in my National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Pacific Northwest when I got home to identify this rare stranger. He is a fairly large brownish bird with a very long, downward curved bill. He'd disappeared by the time I returned home. Several blue herons were in the vicinity of the bridge and the fountains on the west side, and the usual assortment of glaucous seagulls and Canada geese, mallards, and brants were in the Arboretum pools.

Autumn and our Eagles

The record breaking drought is finally over. Nearly 90 days with almost zero in the rain gauge. The baby eagles are now fledged, and mama and papa are back to normal. Hanging out around the 520 Bridge, waiting for a naive salmon to swim under the bridge or a cocky seagull to fly too close to those waiting talons. But now they have only themselves to feed, do Ethel and Ernest, and not those pesky, ravenous youngsters. We have seen one or the other on the light posts west of the western high rise about every other trip across the bridge. When we do.....the toll we pay to cross the bridge seems a pittance. Winter is coming. Prognosticators are not agreed upon what we'll see in this area this year. Evidently it is neither a La Nina nor an El Nino pattern. It was the former mischief maker which brought us all the snow last winter. El Nino usually produces nothing but Pineapple Expresses, miserable warmish rain and wind storms that soak us for days and enhance our over-stated reputation for being a 'rainy place'. It is actually 'neutral years' like the one coming that have historically produced the greatest snowfalls around here, but it doesn't always happen by any means. However, the winters of 1968-1969 (70 inches snow) and most recently 2008-2009 (60 inches) were both 'neutral years'. We kind of like it when our precip falls fluffy and white....at least until we get really sick of it. So we will see. And no matter what winter brings we look forward to seeing more of our friends, Ethel and Ernest. And are so thankful they have chosen to make their lives in our neighborhood.

Yes, they really are back!

Both trips this week over the 520 Bridge I saw the eagles again. On Tuesday, Ernest was keeping watch for the next meal in the usual place, south side of the western end of the bridge. Today Ethel swooped in for a landing upon a light post in the center section of the bridge, the 'floating' part. We don't see the eagles there often. They seem to nearly always hold court on those westernmost light posts. But she landed there today, looking sharp. Apparently the parents are well rested after their summer of intensive child rearing, and now are back to the nest to settle in for the upcoming cold season. And the cold season just might finally be ushering in to the Pacific Northwest, after a record 3 month dry-as-a-bone spell of weather that has broken every record for drought since records began here. Since mid July we have seen exactly .03" of precipitation. A mere 14 minutes of drizzle on a day in September, and that has been IT. However the huge high pressure system that has parked just west of Vancouver Island since June or so seems finally to be ready to move, and we expect to see real rain by the weekend, or by early next week at the latest. Back to the weather we are famous for. The straw lawns and fried flower gardens in our area will welcome the change, but for many of us this has been a welcome long sunny spell.

Ernest is BACK!

Over a month went by with no reports of sightings of either of our eagles. I think Ethel and Ernest took a much needed vacation once the eaglets had both fledged (and fledged for good.......the younger one was extremely reluctant to give up the security of the nest, nor the continued feeding by the parents.) But on Tuesday afternoon, there was Ernest. Perched upon one of the southern high rises along the west end of the 520 Bridge. With umpteen huge cranes and even more barges clogging the area around the bridge during the current construction of the new crossing I even began to wonder if E & E had moved on permanently. But no. These dear friends have withstood the hundred thousands of cars whizzing below them every week, what is a little bit of construction chaos to them?! Anyway, great to catch sight of Ernest again. I hope this means they will be here throughout the fall and winter until it is time to restart the cycle of mating, nesting, hatching, feeding and fledging all over again next year. Now if only the famous 'Seattle Rain' would come back and save our crispy region. We are in our 3rd straight month without any precipitation. Zilch. Nada. Lawns are straw and the flower beds are kaput. And while summer in Seattle is always semi-arid (believe it, all of you who were sold the myth that all it ever does here is rain).....this dry spell is crazy. And nothing out there as far as the forecasters can see.

Eaglets

I have just checked in with the Eva & Albert blogger to see what he has seen of our eagles. He reports that the oldest one, the one Seattle's eagle lovers have dubbed 'Beatrice', apparently took off from the nest one day early in August and that was that, folks. No messing around with 'learning to hunt' (let alone 'learning to fly!'), and is likely a natural at 'eagleness'. Eaglet #2, however, seems to resemble that one child in the family who just isn't quite sure s/he can walk, so waits until just before kindergarten to take a step. This one, named 'Eleanor' by the locals, finally fledged about a week ago. But unlike its precocious sibling, this eaglet has been seen returning to the nest at dusk on many evenings and still enjoys being fed by the 'rents. Having not seen hide nor feather of Ethel or Ernest for a couple of weeks myself, it is good to catch up on them through my compatriot blogger. He reports that both parents remain in the area, and continue to hang out around 'The 520' quite often. I hope to catch sight of them, and of their home-body offspring one of these days soon. Other 'wild life' reports. We have a very destructive (our mowed to the ground veggie garden as proof) family of cotton tail rabbits in the yard. There were at least two baby bunnies, but sadly the runt of the litter turned up dead recently. A cat or raccoon or even our elusive neighborhood coyote had done quite a job on the poor little thing. In spite of my better judgment I have begun setting out a bowl of water for the little family, as we have just passed 40 days without a drop of precipitation, and absolutely none in sight. (A reverse of Noah's flood?!) The all time record number of consecutive days without precip stands at 51, and we may very well eclipse that mark. So, I couldn't bear to see the remaining baby bunny valiantly trying to pull a bit of water out of the watermelon rind I disposed into our back yard compost heap. Thus the bowl of water.

Eaglet #1 Has Left the Building

I have to rely upon the Eva and Albert blogger to provide details of what has been going on at the nest. But he reports that about 10 days ago the youngest eaglet had left the nest, and that Mom & Dad, Ethel & Ernest, had disappeared as well. For a few days there was some worry about whether the three of them had permanently departed the area, leaving the remaining youngster alone in the nest. But all is well in the world. I spotted Ernest right there on his beloved 520 Bridge light standard on Monday, August 6, and other motorists have seen one or the other of the parents there later in the week. So it seems as though Ethel and Ernest probably took Junior #1 (the eaglet that Seattle folks have named Beatrice, regardless of gender :) ) and left on a first hunting trip. Who knows if any of us will ever see Beatrice around here again. At this point the younger eaglet, also given a name (Eleanor.....and once again without regard to gender, but who cares) has yet to fledge. I will keep abreast of the Eva and Albert blogger posts to inform this blog when that youngster fledges as well. Perhaps we will see Mom & Dad disappear for a couple of days on another hunting lesson?

Eaglets practicing, flexing their wings

I have been checking in with the Eva and Albert blogger who includes excellent photos of the eagles, parents and eaglets alike, with his blogs. And the older of the two nestlings is shown practicing flexing his/her wings, even making some modest lift offs from the nest this past week, all in anticipation of fledging soon. And we have seen the parents on every trip across the bridge lately. The other day Ethel was sitting upon the southern fountain, located just south of the 520 bridge on the west side where the eagles usually appear. She had something in her right talon.....it could have been a crow, or it might have been a small fish. I could not quite make it out. Then yesterday and today we saw Ethel upon her favorite light standard, and later Ernest was in that exact post. Now it is Ernest who is looking a bit disheveled. His feathers are all caterwampus, apparently parenting can be tumultuous at times! I will let you know when the eaglets fledge. Once they do....who knows where they will go. But we believe Ethel and Ernest have homesteaded right where they are. Or at least we hope so. And a side note. A recent book written by two University of Washington professors, "The Gifts of the Crow", has been a fascinating read. There was a section in the book about the behavior of crows during a period of grieving for a crow that dies. Last week I actually was just a few feet away when a fledgling crow crashed straight down to the ground in our back yard from one of our huge fir trees. The crow appeared to be a couple of weeks from fledging age, tail feathers not quite full yet. And this young crow, while still barely alive, who appeared to make absolutely no attempt whatsoever to fly, even to flap his wings as he fell, had a grossly enlarged abdomen which also was completely bare of any feathers whatsoever. He was dead within just a few moments. I looked around for parents, relative crows, always so omnipresent to protect their babies, and saw no one. So I buried the poor little crow. And within a few moments, a big group of crows silently assembled in a dogwood tree above the little grave. One by one they came down, walked up to where I'd buried the fledgling, then eventually all of them silently flew away. No scolding, no cawing. Silence the entire time. And the very next day.......a second identically sick fledgling crow, the same swollen belly, lay dead within inches of where the first one fell. Once again, I buried the baby crow. And once again, within minutes, a flock of crows arrived silently. They again took turns flying down from the tree to the spot where I buried the second crow, as if to pay their respects, again in total silence. Then they all flew away.

Ethel and Ernest, salmon fishing

Took a ride over the bridge on Wednesday, and there they were. Mama and Papa, one on each side of the bridge, watching for sockeyes to come swimming by. There are record numbers of salmon passing through the Ballard Locks this summer, headed into Lake Washington, then up one of the rivers to spawn. So there should be ample food for the eaglets during this final push before they fledge within the next few weeks. Locals voted on names for the pair, and came up with Eleanor and Beatrice. Great names. However.......with the known habit of first hatched female eaglets summarily disposing of second hatched eaglets, it is all too possible that at least one of the eaglets is a male?? Oh well, what's in a name. Construction on the 520 Bridge has gone full scale on the west end of the span lately. There are multiple huge cranes and barges, boats coming and going, jack hammers rat-a-tatting, and workers in throngs everywhere. But I suppose that these eagles who make their home on a freeway bridge above hundreds of thousands of cars weekly can take such nuisance in their strides?

Ethel assigned to hunting duty

Apparently it is Ethel's turn to catch a salmon, or a seagull, or a full nest of baby crows for the eaglets today. She was perched upon the light standard about a half hour ago, watching for an opportunity to catch a nice meal. She's looking a bit less unkempt I think.....no sign of the tangled feathers on her back side that we'd seen several times recently. The eagles must be loving this summer weather! Unlike the two thirds of the country that is sweltering in heat and humidity we are basking in 80 degrees and 10% humidity with more of the same forecast for the long term outlook. It may nudge up near 90 next week, but without humidity...and with our lovely cool nights in the 60's....it is pretty peachy around here.

Eagle society is matriarchal

Spotted ever-so ernest Ernest this morning at about 8 am, watching for something good to bring to his hungry eaglets for breakfast. And about those eaglets. According to experts, had the first hatched been a female, the second hatched would have quickly been eliminated by the prima donna. That's what happens in eagle world. Consequently I believe that the first hatched of the pair of eaglets is likely a male, and it is anyone's guess about eaglet #2. But the supremacy of the females in eagle society is emphasized by the fact that the females are invariably larger than the males. And while Eddie was approximately equal in stature to Ethel, note that her new mate....the one she flew off to conquer as her new life-long partner....is a head and near shoulder smaller than she is. Not to say she over-powered sweet Ernest....I doubt that was necessary considering what a beautiful girl she is and all....it is interesting that she picked for her new mate someone she could push around if it ever became necessary. I doubt she ever quite forgave Eddie for disappearing. It may have left her with a bit of a hard edge. Anyway, the pair appear to be great providers for their youngsters, and all too soon those eaglets will go off to find their own way in the world. I'll keep watch, and also will continue to follow the Eva and Albert blog to keep up to date on our feathered family.

Ernest catches a seagull for dinner

The Ava and Albert blogger has published some wonderful photos of Ernest after he catches a seagull in mid-air recently to bring home to his hungry eaglets. Apparently it was quite a journey from conquest to aerie, as Ernest was initially chased by some jealous crows (who felt the seagull should somehow be their dinner.) He eventually lost his pursuers but it was no easy task carrying a seagull back to the nest and Ernest had to stop twice en route. However, once back home, the youngsters were delighted with their dear old dad's offering.....salmon can be soooooo boring when you get it for 30 meals in a row.. Currently there is a drive locally to name the eaglets. Nobody knows the gender yet, but a few suggestions have been offered. Since the last update from the A & A blogger, Ava has been subtly changed to Eva. I'm not too worried about whether we call our friends Ethel and Ernest, or Eva and Albert. Nor what we might call the little ones. It is just pure joy to have these magnificent birds in our neighborhood. My sympathies to the seagull family.

Back in town, & all is well with our eagles

We were out of town for most of the month of June, and had no chance to check on our feathered friends. But on Friday Ethel was on a light standard on the 520 Bridge on my round trip into the city. She still has kind of a disheveled look about her....the feathers on her upper back look a bit caterwampus. But maybe that's the way it gets for a mom with twin eaglets in the nest. Today is July 1, and according to my inexact math the eaglets could fledge by the end of the month. What a treat if we are able to see them in the air. I will check with the Ava and Albert blogger to see what he observes. But the most important thing is that the little eagle family appears to be flourishing at this point. It will have been one year on August 2 that our beloved Eddie went to Rainbow Bridge....we still miss you Eddie.

It's official! Ethel & Ernest are raising a pair of eaglets.

Another blogger who lives near the Arboretum has posted a video of Ethel and Ernest and two eaglet chicks in the nest above the Golf Course. This confirms what we have suspected. What fabulous news. The eaglets (gender undetermined) are already spreading their wings. They should be ready to fledge sometime next month. The local Cable News channel (NW Cable News) did a special report on our 520 eagles last evening. Some have named them Ava and Albert, but whatever they are called, they remain Ethel and Ernest to us, and we love our magnificent feathered pair. The video shows Ernest actively feeding the youngsters. Again....it is magic, that Ethel was able to find another mate after Eddie and bring him back to her nest in The Arboretum. Ernest, we will be forever grateful to you for following your love to her land and people. You are one special guy. A true Millennium Man.

Update on the Chickadee Family

Regarding the city grandson, and the baby birds that we at first thought were another family of juncos. It turns out they were black capped chickadees. And I'm happy to report that the chickadee parents forgave their youngsters for smelling like a human and resumed feeding them their diet of caterpillars and seeds. All is well that ends well.

Ethel, looking eastward

Saw Ethel again, holding court upon her favorite light post. Where is Ernest!?!? We have not seen him for a long while. But Ethel was there Tuesday afternoon, gazing toward the east. Her feathers looked a little ruffled. Perhaps parenting is making our girl a little haggard, but she'll surely persevere. I wonder how she reacts to a big thunderstorm like we are having right at this moment. Unusual for around here where one can typically walk between the raindrops without getting wet. We call it "background rain". Anyway, a downpour has suddenly replaced our sunny afternoon, and even as I type, it is ending. The sun will be back out in a half hour.

The junco nest is full of activity. Four newly hatched baby birds, mom and dad junco frantically feeding their brood. I heard yesterday that another family of juncos had taken up residence in the bird house our 10 year old grandson built and erected in their city neighborhood. Evidently, 10 year old curiosity and impulsiveness got the better of our sweet (but exasperating) boy and he decided to raise the babies in his bedroom. Luckily the cleaning lady came by just hours later to discover the source of frantic squeaking inside the bedroom. Three baby birds. After learning where they actually "live" she returned them to the bird house. Haven't heard yet whether the parents resumed rearing their human-smelling babies, but I can only hope for the best. The grandson, meanwhile, reached a tearful and contrite position, and said he would never do anything like that again. He especially reacted to descriptions of frantic junco parents searching for their abducted little ones. Life's lessons are sometimes painful.

Why do the crows even bother?

I rode the train into Seattle yesterday morning, returning from a trip to Glacier Park. It snowed there for four straight days, but I saw a ginormous male grizzly bear galumphing through a meadow and on across the highway toward the St Mary River, so it could have been 50 below and I would have considered the trip a complete success. Anyway, just as we were almost to the station at the end of the trip, traveling along the edge of Puget Sound by Myrtle Edwards Park, there was a bald eagle quite close to the shore, maybe 15 feet above the water, being chased by a pair of frantic crows. For there in the eagle's beak dangled a baby crow. The outraged crow parents hadn't yet come to grips with their obvious loss, but these things never end well do they? Then, after refueling with a cup of authentic coffee at Zeitgeist we headed home, and there on the Bridge was Ethel at her "Post". I love that girl. Haven't seen Ernest for a long time. But figure he's somewhere about, hopefully helping on occasion with the care and feeding of the eaglet(s). Two years ago we actually saw Ethel's eaglet when it fledged in late July that season.

Ethel, yesterday & again today

Two trips across the 520 Bridge in the last 24 hours. Yesterday no sign of Ethel on our Westbound travel but an hour later she was perched on the light post.....it's almost always that same one. The one she shared with Eddie. RIP Eddie. We miss you. And just now we caught sight of Ethel flying back to her nest with food for her baby. Or babies. We have an Oregon Junco nest in the wild blackberry thicket at the base of one of our huge fir trees. This is the second round for this junco mama. She had a brood that fledged in April, and now she is sitting on four little blue eggs. Juncos love being on the ground. They build their nests at ground level, and they seem to prefer to walk rather than fly. It's cooler here now, but she's doing a good job keeping her eggs warm. Soon we will have baby juncos to watch.

Ethel and her crow escort

A few moments ago I looked up, right over our back yard, and there was a small adult eagle at low altitude being chased by four crows. I know how this is going to end. The eagle was effortlessly riding the slight breeze (there is almost zero wind speed during this spring warm spell) and the crows were flapping their wings rapidly trying to keep up. The group of them circling back and forth just above the crowns of the fir and hemlock trees in the neighborhood, and just as I was watching....two of the crows peeled off just like F-15s do during the Blue Angel shows....and were soon replaced by two fresh sets of wings. Crows are nothing if not clan protective. Aunts and uncles and grandparents all appear to join in the fight to protect the nest from raiders. They are usually able to fend off the raccoons, reach a draw with the smaller raptors like the sharp shinned hawks, and almost undoubtedly lose the battle to the eagles. It looks like Ethel today, judging by the size, but that's purely a guess. I am almost certain that this eagle will prevail in the end and raid the crow nest of the babies inside. Survival in the wild. I won't take sides in this fight, though if it is Ethel....well.....you go, Girl.

Happy Mothers Day Ethel

Still haven't confirmed that Ethel is once again an active mother, but I believe she is. Anyway, there she was on this absolutely glorious Mothers Day, temps in the 80's, azure sky, barely a ripple on Lake Washington....perched on the same post she has always favored. West of the west high rise, north side of the 520 Bridge. I hope she catches a big salmon to take home to her eaglets.....or just to share with Ernest if I am incorrect about the family situation. Every time I see one of these wonderful eagles while crossing the bridge I know that the world is still spinning on its axis, all is well, summer will be spectacular, and the economy will continue to improve.

Another beautiful day.....

Two round trips over The Bridge today. We are enjoying perfect spring weather, sunny skies, temps in the 70's. The only glimpse of either eagle occurred upon my return trip home early this afternoon. I saw one of them flying quite low over the span between the western high rise and the Arboretum....flying north to south. I am thinking about visiting the Broadmoor Golf Club soon to try to actually look at Ethel & Ernest's nest. I asked the guard at the entrance gate if he knew where the nest was, and he told me the eagles move it every few years. The things get to be the size of a double bed mattress over time, and eventually gravity wins the contest. The guard didn't tell me if he knows where the nest is now...and I know eagles are good at choosing sites which are not readily visible, for obvious reasons. Anyway, I will report what I find out. I'd just like to be able to picture "Home" for our eagle family.

Ethel....two days in a row.

Two recent trips across the bridge, two Ethel sightings. We didn't see her on Tuesday, but she was on the north fountain just off Foster Island yesterday around noon when we crossed the bridge eastbound. And this morning on our trip westbound into the city, there she was, around 8 am, sitting there on the all-time favorite light standard where she and Eddie hung out together so often in times past. Ethel looks good....well fed, healthy. If she came close to starving to death while she sat on the nest for several weeks it is not apparent. Maybe Ernest really is a prince, and brought her food and gave her an occasional break from egg sitting? Who knows. I tend to attribute human characteristics to animals (I do that all the time with Wilson). No glimpses of Ernest lately. We may travel the bridge again during the weekend. I'll report it if we catch sight of either of our friends then.

quiet day

A nice spring day in the Northwest. The city was in upheaval with the May Day protests, but everything else was pretty quiet. Caught sight of one of the eagles circling high above the lake and above the 520 Bridge when we made our westbound trip this afternoon, but no sign of either eagle upon our return. I wish someone else was writing about Ethel and Ernest, someone who lives in the area of the Arboretum who might know if our friends have an active nest this spring. I continue to believe that they do....Ethel's weeks-long disappearance from late February into the end of April coincides with nesting times for eagles in our area. We will be heading over to Madison Park on the weekend. Maybe one of them (or both) will favor us with their presence then. Just catching sight of them, even one of them high in the clouds like today, is a gift. This is the first real spring we've had in this area in the past three seasons.....and that, in itself, is a gift. All the fruit trees and berry vines are loaded with blossoms now, and the bees are out there working them. This is a magic time of year.

Ethel is back!

Ethel was back in her favorite spot this afternoon....the second light post beyond the Western high rise, on the South side of the bridge. Does this mean that she has an eaglet in the nest in the Arboretum? Eaglets? Whatever the case, there she was, watching for an unsuspecting salmon to pass under the bridge....dinner for the Eagle family. The bridge will close for the weekend, which will give Ethel and Eddie 54 hours of peace and traffic-free quiet from 11 pm Friday until 5 am on Monday. Perhaps later in the summer we will catch sight of the youngster, learning to fly.

Quiet week

Haven't seen the eagles since watching Ernest catch a salmon dinner on Easter Sunday. But we have not been over the bridge except for a short trip this Tuesday. And while neither of the eagles was there, it was a massive convention of blue herons on the log booms by the University Stadium. Every log was filled with herons shoulder to shoulder. There must have been at least a hundred of them. During the upcoming weeks we hope to see more of Ethel and Ernest, assuming they very well may be feeding a hungry family fairly soon. I will keep you posted.

Ernest Fishing on Easter Sunday

This morning, after no sightings of Ethel nor Ernest for a couple of weeks again, we just saw Ernest swooping into Lake Washington near the north fountain by the 520 Bridge. And just as we approached that part of the highway Ernest suddenly swooped down once more and came up with a big salmon for Easter breakfast! Undoubtedly he will share the bounty with Ethel, who we now assume is quite certainly sitting on eggs in the nest in the Arboretum, and is probably very hungry. It takes about 35 days from the time she lays the first egg sometime in March until the first baby eaglet hatches. So the time may be getting fairly close when the blessed event will occur. The nest itself is well hidden from public view.....eagles are good at finding such out of sight locations to better protect the eggs, then the eaglets. But once the eggs hatch we expect to see a frenzy of activity as the parents frantically feed their ravenous youngster or youngsters. But it will be later in the summer before the baby eagles are ready to fly. Perhaps sometime in late July.

We had just been talking about how Ernest is NOT Eddie. Eddie held court upon the light posts of the 520 Bridge nearly all day every day, and Ethel was there nearly as often. Ernest, however, is his own guy. He occasionally perches on the exact same light post as Eddie did, but we are lucky to catch sight of him there. Nevertheless Ernest and Ethel make a fascinating pair. They are "our" eagles.

Ernest, holding court

I hadn't seen Ethel or Ernest for the last several trips across the bridge. By now, if she is nesting this spring, Ethel is already likely sitting on eggs in the nest in the Arboretum, and Ernest is likely dropping conifer boughs on her head in regular fashion! So it was especially nice to see Ernest yesterday afternoon right there on one of the favored light posts on the 520 Bridge when I returned from an errand into Seattle about 2:45 pm. We had a laundry room fire at our home on Friday of last week. All of us are fine, thank goodness, including (and especially) our daughter and 2 1/2 year old granddaughter who were here at the time. The house is still standing, albeit with some smoke damage throughout, and the laundry room is almost a total loss. But everything is relative. Our biggest worry was our 5 year old Persian cat, Wilson. He disappeared in the chaos and finally emerged from a hiding place he had discovered during the mayhem of all the smoke and flames, under the Viking Range to a cubby hole behind our dishwasher. He did suffer from smoke inhalation, but after a trip to the emergency veterinary clinic, a shot of steroids, bronchodilator meds, some fluids to treat his dehydration (and a whopping big vet bill) he is back to his sweet self, or nearly so. I felt that seeing Ernest yesterday was a good omen......things will be OK. And if nothing else, this experience has helped put silly things (like the political turmoil flaring now that we are in our extended presidential election season in the US) in perspective. Some things matter more than other things. Blessings come in disguise.

Spring is coming.....?

We get a whiff of spring here. The mercury climbs to 60 F, the sun makes a valiant appearance. But no.....spring is no match for winter's chill. While the vast chunk of the continental US has experienced an unusually mild winter here in the Pacific Northwest La Nina has brought us colder than normal weather. Last week teased us again with hopes of spring. But we awoke this morning to a pure white world. It has been snowing off and on all morning. But now the sun is again trying to make it through the clouds. So this afternoon we will head off over the bridge....hope to see the eagles. Didn't see them last week, but maybe they will like this cold weather?

Other neighborhood eagles......

Just returned from coffee at the Carillon Point Starbucks, and as we drove home on Lake Washington Blvd a pair of eagles circled overhead. I think these might be the eagles we observe from time to time at Heritage Park in Kirkland, but they are almost certainly not Ethel and Ernest. It would be interesting to learn just how many bald eagles reside nearby. We see them hovering over our house in the summer sometimes, usually being chased by some frantic crows, desperate to keep the eggs or the babies in their nests from becoming an eagle snack. It is kind of sad to see the poor crows valiantly flapping their wings, attacking in tag teams as one pair wears out from the effort and another pair takes up the fight, while the eagles simply soar. They seem not to have to move their wings at all, and it becomes apparent that it is a waiting game for them. They will outlast the poor crows and when the fight ends in crow exhaustion the eagles will almost certainly get their treat and move on. That's nature. And the crows do the same thing to smaller birds.....how many times we've seen a pair of crows raid the house finch's nest of eggs, or pluck a baby junco out of a nest the parents have tried to hide on the ground in our greenery. Survival of the fittest, and of the most powerful.

Oh what a beautiful morning...

The sky is full of cotton-ball clouds, the lake slightly roiled on the north side of the 520 Bridge (the way it always is during fair weather) and the sun is shining through on this promisingly warm early March morning. We awoke to 50 degrees today, surpassing the high mark we've struggled to meet on any but a handful of the days since November. I drove across the bridge at 9 am and there was Ethel on the light post she favors just west of the western high rise. Then upon my return both Ethel and Edgar were perched on the light post directly across the bridge deck from where she had been earlier. Just before I pulled evenly with the pair Ernest took off to chase some crows away from the exclusive dominion of the eagles, and Ethel stayed put. So it would appear that she is not yet sitting on a nest in The Arboretum. This warmish weather we are enjoying, however, might just be the encouragement the eagles need toward thoughts of love.

Happy trip over the bridge..

I was beginning to despair seeing my friends again....afraid maybe they had moved their nest somewhere else and would not be seen upon the bridge anymore. But earlier this afternoon there was Ernest, sitting atop the very first light standard after the western high rise. I always wave to him when I see him....to either of the eagles. Somehow everything seems right with the world when they are there. By the time I returned home, just a few moments ago, Ernest had flown and was nowhere to be seen. But now I know that he is still around, and that makes everything seem in its place.

520 Bridge is closed for weekend...

I didn't drive the bridge today but did drive 520 east into Redmond and back. There was a sharp shinned hawk on one of the light standards, and an osprey on another. Judging by the activities of the birds at our back yard feeders the bird population is really hungry as winter slowly winds down here. We've had as many as two dozen pine siskins at a time at the feeder we've filled with nijer seed, and the house finches, Oregon juncos, red breasted sapsuckers and chickadees are ravenous as well. I'm going to get some more bird seed at Wild Birds Unlimited this weekend.

The Evergreen Point bridge, however, is closing tonight and will be closed until 5 am Monday morning. So there will be no eagle watching until next week. I hope that my friends, Ethel and Ernest, are well and that I've simply missed seeing them in the last couple of weeks. The calendar says that March is at hand....so I think Ethel may soon disappear for perhaps extended periods of time if she is sitting on eggs. There has been some minor worry that the widening of the 520 Bridge might disturb the areas around the eagles' current nest in The Arboretum, though most likely not until at least a year from now when construction goes into high swing on the west side of the bridge.

No Eagles....again

It has now been two weeks since I have seen the eagles. They should know how worried I get when I don't see them for awhile. The wind was gale force this afternoon, huge white caps on the south side of the floating bridge. Maybe on a day like today Ethel and Ernest hang out at the nest..... or something. One of the ospreys was swooping down to the surface of Lake Washington on the north side of the bridge, but I didn't see it catch anything. The herons were occupying the red buoys in Portage Bay again. But no eagles.

Seattle was protected by the "rain shadow" of the Olympic Mountains all day and we got almost no rain whatsoever, while areas just north and just south of the city saw a deluge. By the weekend this warm Pineapple Express will disappear and we're expecting another round of snow and ice by the weekend. Even so, the days are stretching out now, and bringing a promise of spring and then summer. Just thinking about almost 20 hours of daylight between dawn and dusk brightens my mood.....winter WILL eventually be over.

No Eagles....again

It has been over a week since I've seen either of the eagles. I hope everything is OK with them. I wonder if it is possible that Ethel may be getting a bit of an early start on starting a new family.....that maybe she is already sitting on eggs in their nest in The Arboretum. This is supposed to happen in March but it has been relatively mild this month, especially after our icy & snowy month of January. Nevertheless I will be relieved to catch sight of either Ethel or Ernest soon. Just to know they are still around and doing well. Next time I have a chance to see them will probably not be until next Tuesday at the earliest.

Crow & a Krispy Kreme Doughnut

No eagle sighting today on my round trip over the bridge. It is another beautiful day here, and the recent rain has left the air crystal clear. In Portage Bay, between the Seattle Yacht Club and the houseboat community there are 10 or 12 bright red buoys in the water. Upon every single one of them stood a blue heron today, all of them in the one legged pose they favor. There were a pair of ospreys on lamp posts at mid-span. But neither the herons nor the ospreys could beat the sight of a big Northwest Crow who landed on the stop sign at the top of the 520 off-ramp coming home....with a lovely looking glazed doughnut in his beak. He landed on the sign post, and began to eat his delicacy. It kind of made me want to go buy a bag of doughnuts.

No Ethel nor Ernest today...

This afternoon brought blustery showers at the same time the sun emerged from behind the clouds to the west, and a perfect rainbow reached all the way across Lake Washington to our north. But no sign of Ethel nor Ernest as we traveled in either direction. The osprey was atop one of the light standards on the east side, after the bridge. And the seagulls were out in great numbers.

Hover-craft seagull, Ethel at midspan

A cool, drizzly day today in the Puget Sound region. The wind is always from the south on overcast and damp days like today. And in the slight breeze that is just strong enough to make small ripples on the surface of Lake Washington a glaucous seagull was suspended almost in midair over the midspan of the 520 Bridge. It kind of looked like a figure on a crib mobile, suspended by a nearly invisible string that had been anchored above to the low-lying clouds. Seagulls not only can fly, they can hover....wings spread but quiet....on only a hint of wind. In the area of the Arboretum a blue heron had claimed every piling and a flock of Canada Geese flew overhead from north to south as we passed below.

Ethel was sitting atop one of the light standards on the middle span of the bridge when we traveled westbound this morning. This isn't the typical perch for either of the eagles...they are nearly always west of the western high rise. By the time we returned she had flown off somewhere. No sign of Ernest this time.

Back to normal.....

Awoke to a drizzly day today. All good things must end, and our streak of magical mid-winter weather is now memory. The raccoons were up in the maple tree this morning....a mother and twins that looked about six to eight months old. They are not my favorite animals (they can be pretty nasty...) but I'm happy to see that they survived the bitter cold January snow and ice storms. No trips planned over 520 for the next couple of days. The eagles are habit forming...I look forward to any chance of seeing them. I'm curious to see if Ethel disappears next month to sit on eggs.

No eagles today, but a crow/squirrel brouhaha in the backyard....

And yet another beautiful day here in the Northwest. We may rue this dry winter come August when it is always droughty around here and we have no water in the reservoirs to power our hydro-electricity. But for now, we are celebrating every lovely day of sunshine and warmth. It looks like this streak my be dwindling by the end of the week, however, as we slide back down to normal temps and normal rainfall.

No sign of Ethel nor Ernest on the bridge today. But we had a little bit of wildlife drama right in the backyard this morning before we left. Two very fat squirrels and one huge crow were in a fisticuffs over some bit of something.....maybe a piece of pumpkin rind from the compost heap or an even more delectable morsel like a dead mouse....and the battle was raging as we watched. Eventually, however, the overweight squirrels gave in, and the crow was left with the prize. In no time whatsoever he had invited some of his closest crow friends to join him in his feast.

62 Degrees - Heaven!

Everyone is walking around saying "Wow, winter is over!" And by the looks of this glorious day, spring has arrived in the Pacific Northwest. It seems hard to believe that less than two weeks ago we were locked in a deep freeze with a foot of snow on the ground. I'd get up in the morning and refill the bird feeders in our back yard so the chickadees, juncos, house finches and red breasted sapsuckers would not starve.....and check out the latest tracks through the snow on our patio from the cold night before. One morning there were the tracks of two raccoons, an adult and a youngster. We hadn't seen any raccoons for over a year in our yard but they are clearly still around. There were also tracks from the little white tailed rabbits that have frequented our neighborhood for the last few years. They have a hard time of it, with traffic zooming by and predators like the local coyote who has also been responsible for the demise of several house cats. Anyway, today was magic, and the forecast is for several more days of bright sunshine and warm temps. The moon is full or nearly so......which for unexplained reasons has always coincided with clear, dry weather in our region ...or so it seems to this observer. I didn't make it over the 520 Bridge today, so no sightings of Ethel or Ernest. Nevertheless my feathered friends must be loving this weather as much as we do. I look forward to my trip on Tuesday and to the hope of seeing them again.

Spectacular Seattle Day

What a spectacularly beautiful day in the Pacific Northwest. Glorious Mt Rainier (locally referred to simply as "The Mountain") rising like a gigantic ice cream cone on the Southern horizon above Lake Washington.... the sun is shining in an azure sky, and we are enjoying our warmest day of the winter....by far. 53 degrees F (~ 12 C), and while that's a tad bit short of the earlier promises of 60...we will take it! And watching over it all was Ernest upon the favored light standard above the 520 Bridge as we traveled west this morning shortly after 9 am. He wasn't there on the way home......anytime you see a glaucous seagull upon any of the light poles on the western portion of the bridge you know you will not see Ethel or Ernest, and there were several of them hanging out by 11:30 am. (The seagulls are not stupid, nor are they suicidal.) This magical weather is supposed to hold for several days. So even if we return to winter later this month we will be replenished by these golden days.

No sign of either eagle this morning westbound over the bridge. I'm always disappointed when I fail to catch sight of my friends, but in a way how surprising the frequency which we do see one or both of them on either portion of our round trip. We came home via I-90 from our trip to The Museum of Flight (awesome place!) so it will be tomorrow before we have a chance to see Ethel or Ernest again.

Have just returned from a round trip over the 520 Bridge. One of the eagles was in a tree in The Arboretum, well west of the bridge, in a spot I have never noticed either of them before today. It was near the very top branch of a deciduous tree, above the inlet where the canoes are often seen on a sunny day. I will have to be observant now when I fail to see Ethel or Edgar on the bridge or upon one of the fountains and remember to look in the trees by The Arboretum. I couldn't tell which of the pair I saw today.....my guess would be Ethel as this appeared a fairly small eagle, but it is difficult to gauge from my vantage point. I hope to see my friends again Friday morning.

Eagles fishing

This morning I saw Ethel and Ernest swooping into the shallows off of the Arboretum by Madison Park, and just as I drew even with them Ernest came out with a large salmon in his talons. The two flew into the thickets of the Arboretum, most likely for a gourmet breakfast of sockeye or coho salmon. Bon appetite, my feathered friends.

On my round trip over 520 this morning I saw a pair of ospreys on mid-span light standards, a blue heron on the north fountain, Canada geese flying overhead, an entire convocation of pigeons on a signpost over the Arboretum, and too many glaucous seagulls to count. But no bald eagles. It is a beautiful day in the northwest. Our snow has nearly disappeared, the backyard snowman has been reduced to a torso. The weather people say we are going to see 60 degrees and a week of warm sunshine the end of January into early February. After the wintry weather we have experienced recently that is welcome news indeed.

Eaglet Info

I've done some research and found that in the Puget Sound region the eagle pair mates in March, and about 10 days later the female lays the first egg in the nest. A second egg follows a few days later, and occasionally a 3rd. During the 35 days of incubation the female remains on the nest almost constantly. During this time the male is often seen bringing conifer boughs to the nest, but ornithologists are unsure why he does so. The female is so reluctant to leave the nest unprotected that she may go several days without eating. Only occasionally will the male take over sitting on the eggs. When the eggs hatch it is typical that only one of the eaglets survives, especially if the first hatched is female. Female eaglets tend to be much larger than males and more aggressive. Later, however, adult males are usually a pound or two heavier than females. The babies stay in the nest for about 20 weeks, and by the time the eaglet fledges it is typically a pound heavier than the male parent. This excess weight is lost in the first several weeks on its own.
I expect to see Ethel disappear sometime in March to sit on her nest, now, and will not worry about her. The literature says, however, that eagles live as long as 30 years and do not mate every year. So Ethel and Ernest, being new mates, might even sit this year out from raising a family. We'll see.

Two trips across the bridge today, and rather quiet in way of eagle sightings. On my first westbound tripEthel was perched on the favored light standard just west of the west high rise.....the light standard upon which she and Eddie held court most often over the last several years. The light standard upon which she patiently awaited his return last August.....in what came to be a sweetly sad, futile effort. She was in the exact same spot later this afternoon, again on my westbound commute. No sightings on either return. I plan to do some research on the nesting habits of bald eagles.....wondering when this pair will begin the process of welcoming new eaglets. All of us who take joy in our resident pair feel a gratitude that Ernest was apparently willing to follow Ethel back to her home nest. What a prince.

After an icy morning a spectacularly beautiful day today. Blue sky and bright sun, as gradually our deep snow continues to melt away. The snowman in the back yard lost his carrot nose this afternoon.....I plan to re-instate it right away. Have just returned from a round trip across the bridge. Ernest was sitting on the north fountain on my way over but upon my return I saw nothing but cheeky seagulls taking advantage of the absence of eagle predators to claim the favored light standards as perches. Tomorrow I will make two trips over 520, will report my sightings then.

The Seattle area has been hit pretty hard all week with more snow and ice, which has kept me from going over the 520 Bridge for the last few days. It may be Monday before I go again. I miss seeing my eagle friends, and hope they have fared well in our icy weather. The arboretum, where they have their nest, froze. But Lake Washington is too vast to freeze during our typically short cold snaps, so Ethel and Ernest would have had no problem catching themselves some salmon dinners.

Seattle immediately after a snowstorm is a beautiful winter scape. I took our 20 year old Toyota All Trac (that homely little red car takes to snow and ice like a silver fox....), affixed the Transponder for the bridge toll to the windshield, and took off on our frozen, still unplowed streets. The 520 Bridge, however, had been plowed and sanded and was in excellent shape, and the going was a breeze. And there, west of the western high rise, were my friends. Ethel was perched on the same pole she and Eddie always favored, and directly across the bridge was Ernest. I exited 520 and drove through the Arboretum to Starbucks. The entire area was smothered in fluffy whiteness. And after a reasonable read-through of today's NY Times I headed back to the Eastside. By then Ethel had flown off for a bit of fishing, most likely, and Ernest remained on the light standard, holding court.

Here I am with my new blog on the 520 eagles only to learn that the bridge will close down to traffic tonight through Monday morning. I will not be able to report, but I cannot help but be happy for Ethel and Ernest during these now frequent shutdowns of the bridge during construction. Life on the 520 light standards, let alone upon the railing from which Eddie made his fateful takeoff in August, must be blissful during these periods without cars, trucks.....or Metro buses. I am looking forward to Monday when the bridge re-opens, however. I plan to make my way over to the Madison Park Starbucks that morning, and hopefully spot my favorite feathered friends again.

January, 2012

Every time I travel across the 520 Bridge from Clyde Hill to Seattle my trip is more than worth the brand new tolls if I see one of our resident 520 Bridge Eagles. A little background. A pair of eagles, with a nest in the UW Arboretum just southwest of the 520 Bridge has held court on the fountains and several light standards on the western end of the bridge. For several years motorists were delighted by Eddie and Ethel, the stalwart pair, who blithely ignored the zooming traffic passing just below them and made their living on the salmon swimming in Lake Washington below. On August 2, 2011, perhaps overfed with a recent gorging on a delicious Canada goose or coho salmon, Eddie was perched on the railing of the bridge, only a matter of a foot or two of passing traffic. Unfortunately he took off just as a Metro Bus was passing by, and collided with the windshield of the bus. 520 commuters and all who loved Eddie and Ethel were devastated. Now it is said that eagles mate for life. And Ethel, unable to tune into news radio, or local television news, nor to read the Seattle Times waited patiently for Eddie to return. Day after day she sat atop their favorite light standard above the bridge.....and watched. After a week or so, however, Ethel disappeared. Nobody saw an eagle on the bridge for the next two months. And then.......in mid October, what did commuters see, but Ethel returned to her command post with a HUGE new mate. They have been there ever since. We have named him Ernest, and this blog will be a record of my trips across the 520 Bridge, my sightings of these magnificent birds, and their activities.