Stéphane’s Post for Sept 16/10

More Eagles on a Stormy Day!

Today, a strong East wind and an overcast sky at dawn were ominous signs of rain. We managed to have the nets open from 6:30am to 9:30 before the rain started. It hasn’t stopped yet at 3:30pm, as I am writing these lines.

Nothing much was flying, calling, or moving this morning in the windstorm, except for big birds. Three young Eagles were testing their newfound strength and skills, diving at each other, flipping on their back with talons extended…

Bald Eagles have been an almost daily occurrence this fall at Cabot Head!

Other regular visitors are the otters who come fishing for crayfish in Wingfield Basin in front of the station. Yesterday, a family of 3 was busy all morning in their successful dives, coming up to the surface with jaws filled by crunchy crayfishes. It is a pleasant sound, the sound of hard shell on otter’s teeth! One of the otter seemed less agile in its fishing and very often was begging to the others (that we assumed were the parents) but it got more often than not a push by a paw. Only a few times was it lucky enough to snatch a juicy morsel from benevolent parents.

Stéphane