Super-Duper TOP SECRET Bird Photo

sm4him · Feb 24, 2014

No, seriously, it's a secret! This is the only place I'll be posting this photo.

Yesterday I got a very rare opportunity to go with someone, with the approval of TWRA, to a spot where you can view an eagle's nest from ABOVE the nest.
The especially cool thing about this? Baby eaglets!!! These little eaglets are not quite a week old. We got to take a few pictures, but didn't stay long. We'll be able to go back from time to time and watch their progress, but I won't be posting any pictures on flickr or my FB page. Even though quite a few people already know about this spot (and the eagles have been returning here for nearly a decade, so it clearly isn't disturbing them TOO much), we're asked to not tell the location and not post more than a photo or two of them. It's MY choice to not post them at all on sites where more local people might see them. I just don't want to explain that I can't tell where it is.

Anyway, it was an incredible experience, and I'm really looking forward to watching the babies grow.
One sad note: We think something probably got to one of the babies. There were three eggs. Then there were two babies and an egg. My friend went to see them the next day and there was still an egg but only one baby. She thought maybe she just hadn't seen the other (it can be REALLY surprisingly hard to tell!)--but now there are no eggs left and clearly only two babies.

BillM · Feb 24, 2014

What an amazing opportunity !!!

But not for the turtle

manaheim · Feb 24, 2014

DarkShadow · Feb 24, 2014

Top Secret for sure. Awesome.

ronlane · Feb 24, 2014

Nice Sharon. I don't know nor do I want to know the location but from the picture it looks pretty obvious that you were in "the sticks". lol.

tirediron · Feb 24, 2014

VERY neat!

sm4him · Feb 24, 2014

BillM said:
What an amazing opportunity !!!

But not for the turtle

Funny you mention that: The FIRST things I saw when I pointed the camera at the nest were NOT the eaglets; it was that poor turtle, and great big nasty fish on the other side of the nest. You could barely even tell the eaglets were there until they poked their little heads up.
It would be pretty interesting though, to watch Mama or Papa Eagle bring that turtle to the nest and then pick away at it. Gross, but interesting.

ronlane said:
Nice Sharon. I don't know nor do I want to know the location but from the picture it looks pretty obvious that you were in "the sticks". lol.

Man, that was one TREACHEROUS hill we had to traverse to get to this spot! Really steep going up, and then to get to where you can actually see the nest, you have to go down the other side a little ways. STRAIGHT down. Or at least it felt like it. I was a little bit terrified of falling on the nice, wet leaves--especially since you're basically on a cliff overlooking the Tellico River several hundred yards below you. My friend went down a little further than I did, and closer to the edge. No way I was getting any closer to that edge than I did, and it will take some work to get up the nerve to make the trek again! But for eaglets…yeah, I'll do it again.