Rivers, creeks and streams are Bald Eagles' “highways” and hunting grounds. They need open space these corridors provide in the most forested areas so they can hunt in open spaces. Holding their wings like a board to circle and hunt for prey, Bald Eagles are large enough to cast a noticeable shadow when they fly over head.
Juvenile Bald Eagles are commonly dark brown and can be mistaken for Golden Eagles, though they have larger heads and shorter tails. Juvenile Bald Eagles are strong fliers and may cover 250 miles in one day . . . sporadically searching for new territory. Being large-bodied, they waddle on the ground and can lose some of their majestic bearing seen in flight or perching.
Nature you can touch today.
Quail Valley Golf Course commonly attracts Bald Eagles with its mature trees, ponds and open spaces. It is further developing its course for Audubon Certification to continue attracting these majestic fliers as well as other birds and wildlife. Margaret Sloan has posted as of this writing 148 bird species seen from her Quail Valley residence on Oyster Creek.
Other Winter Birds
But Bald Eagles are just one of our Winter Birds. I have especially enjoyed seeing two Ruby Crowned Kinglets dining on a suet feeder. These tiny birds, just larger than a hummingbird, are quite bold and allow me to get with a couple of feet of them. Other Winter Birds sighted are Wilson's Warblers, American Goldfinches, Cedar Waxwings, Butter Butts, several varieties of sparrows. But there are many more.
Great Backyard Bird Count . . . Feb 15 - 18. If you can spare 15 minutes one or more days. It's lots of fun for the family and easy to do. It will be global this year! You don't have to be an expert. All you need is an interest in birds to enjoy this activity. Learn more.
Photos copyrighted by Quail Valley resident and international birder Margaret Sloan. View her international and national bird pictures by pressing this link.
See a bird you don't recognize in Fort Bend? Margaret has photographed 150+ bird species just in her suburban backyard alone. Narrow your initial search by viewing her full photo album of local birds, Birds of Quail Valley by pressing this link. They are organized by types of birds, so if it's a water bird for example, you may find one that helps you narrow your search. Then if you "google in" the name of the bird, you'll get info and all kinds of information and images. Sometimes if a species is remarkably different from adult you may find nothing, contact us and we'll do our best to help.
Researched and posted by Janice Scanlan
Comments