Going to the Birds

We have both been fighting a cold, so we were a little slow yesterday afternoon. The sun was shining and there was a slight breeze. We went up in the field to collect eggs and ended up just leaning against the fence and enjoying them for a while. There is something so relaxing and "normal" about watching chickens a listening to their little "cluck clucks". You can see above the hitchhiker on the Kabota with Marvin's newly cut hay (he's very happy about that) and our great barn in the background.

Our pond has a couple of mallard ducks floating around on it the other day. We don't get many of them so it's a treat when they stop for a visit.

I know that a lot of people don't like blue jays. I happen to think they are pretty great. I know, I know they invade the nests of the other birds and can be pesty, but I like their spirit. They sit on my window sill and peck at the window (probably at their own reflection) then they land on the ground and hop, hop, hop. If you say something to them, they don't fly away in fright, but rather look you in the eye. I want to feel like a blue jay every day.

My mom and I saw a beautiful Golden Eagle on Thursday. We have quite a few of the bald eagles around, but this is the first Golden I've seen since I was a child - and that's a long time ago!

I looked up on Wikipedia about them and found the following:
"The Golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas. Despite being extirpated from some its former range or uncommon, the species is still fairly ubiquitous, being present in Eurasia, North America, and parts of Africa. The highest density of nesting Golden Eagles in the world lies in southern Alameda County, California. These birds are dark brown, with lighter golden-brown plumage on their heads and necks.

Golden eagles use their agility and speed combined with extremely powerful talons to snatch up prey including rabbits, marmots, ground squirrels, and large mammals such as fox, wild and domestic cats, mountain goats, ibex, and young deer. They will also eat carrion if prey is scarce, as well as reptiles. Birds, including large species up to the size of swans and cranes as well as ravens and Greater Black-backed Gulls have all been recorded as prey. They have even been known to attack and kill fully grown roe deer. The Eurasian subspecies are used to hunt and kill wolves in many native communities, where their status is regarded with great mystic reverence.

Golden eagles maintain territories that may be as large as 60 square miles. They are monogamous and may remain together for several years or possibly for life. Golden Eagles nest in high places including cliffs, trees, or human structures such as telephone poles. They build huge nests to which they may return for several breeding years. Females lay from one to four eggs, and both parents incubate them for 40 to 45 days. Typically, one or two young survive to fledge in about three months.Feeding

The Golden Eagle's predominant prey in North America are rabbits and ground squirrels, prairie dogs, and marmots. Additional mammals regularly taken include mice, martens, foxes, young deer, and mountain goats.

The secondary important prey group for eagles are other birds. Any bird, from a jay to a swan or a even a Common Crane, is potential prey. Golden eagles are avian apex predators, meaning a healthy adult is not preyed upon. There are records of golden eagles killing and eating large raptors such as Gyrfalcons, Northern Goshawks, and Buteo hawks, whether adults, nestlings or eggs. Falcons, skuas, and Buteos like Rough-legged Hawks, which are normally competitors, have worked together to group-mob Golden Eagles that have passed their adjacent nesting areas. In one instance, a golden eagle flying in towards a peregrine falcon nest was struck and killed by a swooping parent falcon. This may have been a freak event since, bearing in mind the eagle is many times larger and more powerful than the falcon, the reverse outcome is much more likely. More commonly, Golden Eagles kleptoparasitize, or steal prey, from other raptors. While not as large as some vultures, golden eagles are capable of driving vultures and other raptors from carrion.

During winter months when prey is scarce, Golden Eagles scavenge on carrion or large prey, such as goat-antelopes and caribou. There is one confirmed report of a Golden Eagle snatching the cub of a Brown Bear, Other attacks by a pair of eagles on adult brown bear have been filmed, the birds probably were driving the bear out of their territory.

Golden Eagles have exceptional eyesight and can spot prey from extreme distances. The Golden Eagle's eyes are many times more powerful than that of a human. The huge talons are used for crushing, killing and carrying the prey, whilst the beak is used for tearing and eating. A pair often have a division of labour while hunting, one bird may drive the prey towards its waiting partner. On the other hand, the size difference between males and females allows more unpaired birds to live off the land, which is helpful to maintain a sufficiently large population for this large and slowly-maturing bird.

Golden Eagles usually mate for life. They build several eyries within their territory and use them alternately for several years. These nests consist of heavy tree branches, upholstered with grass when in use. Old eyries may be 6.6 ft in diameter and 3.3 ft in height, as the eagles repair their nests whenever necessary and enlarge them during each use. If the eyrie is situated on a tree, supporting tree branches may break because of the weight of the nest. Certain other animals—birds and mammals too small to be of interest to the huge raptor—often use the nest as shelter. Their predators are just the right size for Golden Eagle prey, and therefore avoid active eyries.

The female lays one to four (usually two) eggs between January and September (depending on the locality). The eggs vary from all white to white with cinnamon or brown spots and blotches. They start incubation immediately after the first egg is laid, and after 40 to 45 days the young hatch. They are covered in fluffy white down and are fed for fifty days before they are able to make their first flight attempts and eat on their own. In most cases only the older chick survives, while the younger one dies without leaving the eyrie. This is due to the older chick having a few days' advantage in growth and consequently winning most squabbles for food. This strategy is useful for the species because it makes the parents' workload manageable even when food is scarce, while providing a reserve chick in case the first-born dies soon after hatching. Golden eagles invest much time and effort in bringing up their young; once able to hunt on their own, most golden eagles survive many years, but mortality even among first-born nestlings is much higher, in particular in the first weeks after hatching.[citation needed]

At one time, the Golden Eagle lived in temperate Europe, North Asia, North America, North Africa, and Japan. In most areas this bird is now a mountain-dweller, but in former centuries it also bred in the plains and the forests. In recent years it has started to breed in lowland areas again, e.g., in Sweden and Denmark.

There was a great decline in Central Europe where they are now essentially restricted to the Apennine, Alps, and Carpathian Mountains. In Britain, the last comprehensive survey of Golden Eagles took place in 2003, and found 442 occupied territories.[24] A less thorough survey in 2007 showed that in addition to large numbers of territories in the Scottish Highlands and the Inner and Outer Hebrides, there were a handful of birds in southern Scotland and northern England. Between 1969 and 2003 they nested in the Lake District, Cumbria.

In Ireland, where it had been extinct due to hunting since 1912, efforts are being made to re-introduce the species. Forty-six birds were released into the wild in Glenveagh National Park, County Donegal, from 2001 to 2006, with at least three known female fatalities since then. It is intended to release a total of sixty birds, to ensure a viable population. In April 2007, a pair of Golden Eagles produced the first chick to be hatched in the Republic of Ireland in nearly a century. The previous attempt to help the birds breed at the Glenveagh National Park had failed.

In North America the situation is not as dramatic, but there has still been a noticeable decline. The main threat is habitat destruction which by the late 19th century already had driven Golden Eagles from some regions they used to inhabit. In the 20th century, organochloride and heavy metal poisonings were also commonplace, but these have declined thanks to tighter regulations on pollution. Within the United States, the Golden Eagle is legally protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.

Available habitat and food are the main limiting factor nowadays. Collisions with power lines have become an increasingly significant cause of mortality since the early 20th century.

Golden Eagles have been used in falconry since the Middle Ages. In Asia, they were used in teams to hunt such animals as deer, antelope and wolves, while their use was reserved for Emperors in Europe. They can be trained for falconry.

The Golden Eagle is the national bird of five nations, Albania, Germany, and Austria in continuation of the Holy Roman Empire, Mexico and Kazakhstan, the most of any species. The eagle is very much connected to the Saladin Golden Eagle, currently used as the coat of arms of Egypt, Iraq, and Palestine, it was also previously used by Libya, and Yemen.

The Golden Eagle was model for the aquila, the standard of the Roman legions. It is featured in the national coats of arms of Germany, Albania, Austria, Egypt, Mexico, Romania and many other countries.

The eagle is a sacred bird in some cultures and the feathers of the eagle are central to many religious and spiritual customs, especially among some Native Americans in the United States and First Nations in Canada, as well as among many of the peoples of Meso-America. Some Native American peoples revere eagles as sacred and the feathers and other parts of Bald and Golden Eagles. Feathers are often worn on Native American headdresses and have been compared to the Bible and crucifix of Christianity. Eagle feathers are often used in various Native ceremonies and are used to honour noteworthy achievements and qualities such as exceptional leadership and bravery.The Golden Eagle is thought to be the origin of the Thunderbird legends of the southwestern United States,

Current United States eagle feather law stipulates that only individuals of certifiable Native American ancestry enrolled in a federally recognized tribe are legally authorized to obtain eagle feathers for religious or spiritual use. Thus, the supply of eagle material for traditional ceremonial use can be guaranteed and ceremonial eagle items can be passed on as heirlooms by their traditional owners without the restrictions that would usually apply. Commercial trade in Golden Eagles or their feathers or body parts is not legalized by these exceptions.

That's your leason for the day - enjoy!