... Yowzer!

After getting a few pressing issues off my desk this morning, I headed to Swartswood Lake State Park, a 2400 acre area about 20 minutes or so from here. There are a pair of bald eagles that have nested on Little Swartswood Lake for several years now - in fact, hubs and I tried to spot them this winter (unsuccessfully). I stopped to chat with the forest service people who work in the office and they told me that the pair laid the first egg on Valentine's Day and that they believed the chicks had hatched, so off I went. There were a couple of other people there, so I climbed a small hill a bit away where I could see the nest way across far the lake - and I could indeed see the white head of one of the parents on the nest (but only with the aid of Big Daddy, fully zoomed) - wowee! Then, through the viewfinder swooped the other parent!! So, it's not very well focused and the settings aren't the best, but DANG, I got an eagle in flight! I'm freaking thrilled!!!

Spent several hours at the park, hiked one of the trails where I was the only person for miles which was nice, then back home around 3:30. After clearing some email, I thought I'd sit on the patio and enjoy the late day feeder activity. I wasn't disappointed - four different kinds of sparrows, chickadees, titmice, mourning doves, the cardinal pair, nuthatches, a a couple of woodpeckers. No jays this afternoon, so they must have been off doing something. I walked around the corner to check on my peas in the side garden and saw Curly, the Chipmunk! He let me get within about 20-25 feet before scampering up the tree. So, two sightings of a the chipmunk in a single week - yay, me!

This morning, the chickadees were working feverishly on not one, but two possible nest sights - the wren box AND the bluebird box. Lots of excavating at the wren box, while the other partner shuttled beakfulls of moss around. Then, a 10 minute full-body preening session the likes of which I've never seen.

So, a good day. And, it's Hump Day and best of all - the hubs is going to be home tomorrow afternoon!!! I miss him something crazy when he's away.

Thanks for all the comments, stars, etc on the last two days of flowers. I am glad that I wasn't the only one who found the lowly dandelion to be quite a delightful surprise up close. Who knew?

PS: for those of you who missed it when I posted it previously, HERE is the Eagle Cam Link where you can watch two eagles attending to their nestlings. It's pretty amazing to watch, even if you aren't into birds.