Azalea Heard I Was Coming – And Left!
We are Growing Rapidly
April 5, 2010On-line Bald Eagle Class – April 12
April 10, 2010
I was stood up by Azalea this morning! After nearly two weeks at the Tidewater Research Station in Plymouth, NC, I decided yesterday that it was time to make the 100-mile trip to see just what was so attractive to Azalea. I made arrangements with the research station manager and met him at 7:00am this morning. Since I was not due another satellite map until today, I had no way to know that Azalea was not going to be there. She left yesterday about noon and flew north crossing Albemarle Sound to Bertie County, NC. She spent the night near the shore south of Route 17 and Salmon Creek, east of Route 45. That is where she was when I got to the research station – 10 miles away.
It was not a wasted trip however. There were 20 other bald eagles there! 10 were adults and 10 were juveniles and subadults. I got a much better understanding of where Azalea had just spent 12 days, and may return again. The area is restricted to the public so my access had to be pre-arranged. When you Google the area you will see large ponds around the research station. These ponds are privately owned and filled with catfish. That is what Azalea and the other 20 eagles are (were) feeding on, and not the hybred striped bass in the smaller ponds at the research station. Guess she enough catfish, and it was time to move on. After all Azalea is a wanderer.
9 Comments
Yes indeed – Azalea is a wanderer – I am amazed at what a path she makes from place to place – just seeing the country wo AAA or looking for food? Is she a loner? or does she hookup with other yearlings on her travels? I was amazed how she did a look see at her old nest, just curiosity or chance?
Hope you enjoyed your visit. Sorry Azelea wasn’t there.
Oh Reese, what a shame….But it wasn’t a waste like you said. You got to see, and maybe get into Azalea’s head. Now you can see what she was attracted too. She sure is scouting around. She will know when to settle. She is looking for the right place, hopefully when the time is right a mate. They will then call that HOME!! How great that we get to experience it all with her. Thanks to you…and many others we can… Thanks again.
LOL – Reese remember what I said about having her programmed into a GPS ??? Then you could have surprised her instead of her surprising you. So sorry you didn’t get to see her – but seeing the other Eagles would make the trip worth while.
Hope you did enjoy your visit – maybe next time.
Dixie
Azalea kept herself a wings length away from you Reese – what a diva she is!!! Thank you for making the trip to see if you could find her. Will be interesting to see if as you left the area, her tracking device shows her heading right back there. Then I think she is simply teasing you. lol Love to see that Azalea is doing so well. Reese, thank you for all you do. God bless!
Thank you for your in depth description of her latest environment…it does seem she knows how to find the “right” spots. At least she seems comfortable socializing with other eagles, if not humans. 🙂
reese, i do think our ms diva is teasing you.she is thinking big” daddy’ is coming i better leave.lol she is something ,she is having a great time.sorry,you could not see her,but glad you were about to see the other eagles.reese you do a wonderful job,everyone that helps you also.so glad we have someone like you.thanks again.
So sorry you missed seeing her, but it sounds as if your trip was still a great success! I can only imagine how exciting it was to see such a large concentration of eagles. Thank you for telling us what Azalea has found so fascinating about the research station! I am happy other eagles have found this great place to enjoy and not be disturbed by outside factors. Sounds like a perfect sanctuary for them.
I’m very glad that the place has lots of eagles. Hopefully there is enough food there that they don’t fight. Also glad that she found a place where the food is plentiful!