I am sure you will never guess where I went today! When I arrived the chick was on the nest food begging. Then she quieted down…..so the male must have flown off. Her crop was not full, but not hollow and empty either. We sat quietly for a while and then the male arrived with a whole fish and I was able to capture the delivery at about 10:30 am.
What was startling, and you can see this in the photos, was that HE had an empty crop….and when you look at these two side by side….he looks thin. Now this is not necessarily alarming…..males are naturally thinner, a little different shape, and females are larger, and rounder but in this case, also fatter!
But he was delivering a whole fish to this chick when he was hungry. This male is serving this chick…..he is sacrificing for her. Of course he knows he can catch a fish pretty much anytime he needs to and the chick can’t yet. But those are parental behaviors.
She ate a bit and then flew off with the fish to one of her “eating trees”. She ate this fish pretty quickly and it wasn’t very long before she was back on the nest. She waited….and then eventually flew some loops and went back over to the lake and was perched in a tree above the water, looking down. I had moved my car to be able to spot her. Then she suddenly flew off and headed back to the nest….and as I was moving my car again….the male delivered another fish, which I didn’t get photos of, at 12:05.
She took the fish back to her eating tree…it was a pretty good sized fish and she was t exactly gobbling it up. This chick is getting a lot of food!
I had to go pee and get some lunch and when I returned the male was on the nest with a fish! But the chick was still working on the previous fish so she food begged, but did not come to the nest. So the male took the fish to a light and ate it himself. He deserved it.
A woman named Megan stopped to talk to me….she has been reading the page so knew all about this situation! It was fun to talk to her….I always love to meet and talk to the people who share this interest! She lives in the area, knows the lakes where I have been seeing these birds so, fun to share some stories.
She left just a minute or two too soon! Just after she left, the male flew over to the tree where the chick was nibbling on her fish….he perched right next to her. She was almost apoplectic, in spite of holding the tail end of a fish….and he got his marching orders and said, “ got it” and off he went towards the lake! It was sweet watching that interaction.
The chick finally finished her fish and within 20 minutes the male was back on the nest with a fish! I kid you not. She chick came screaming to the nest, grabbed the fish from the male ( these photos are blurry cause I wasnt expecting him to return so quickly!) and the male departed.
After a short time I noticed the chick staring up in the sky….and not eating….I kept watching her and then looked up….its a bald eagle. Chick seemed concerned. And then the male quickly came to the rescue and divebomed the eagle repeatedly and escorted him away from the territory. HIS territory. It’s becoming clear that this male is not only caring for and protecting this chick….he is defending this territory. I worry about a fight with an eagle, as that can end badly….but in very short order the male floated over the nest, heading to the lake. Within less than 10 minutes, he was back on the nest with a fish. The chick was still there with her fish…and they ate, side by side. The chick kept looking over at the males fish, as if she was evaluating whether that fish was bigger. During this meal they were sharing….the chick kept food begging and 3-4 times the male took a bite and leaned over as if he was trying to feed the chick…like she was a baby. I notice so many subtle behaviors that speak loudly to me about how he perceives this relationship. He just must have been a parent before. And as silly as it may sound, this pair brings tears to my eyes almost every day I spend with them. I am so moved….
Then once again that darn bald eagle flew over and the male gave an alarm call and off he went to chase him away again. Eventually returning to the nesting area, floating above to check on the chick…..and then he headed back towards the lake….for another fish perhaps? It was 3:30 so I decided to head home….tho it’s always hard to leave, and I know my days are numbered with them. I took a lot of photos today….and noticed that the male has developed a few spots on his breast. Earlier I had seen one spot that often got preened into place where it could barely be seen….now I see three spots. Adults molt during the summer so these may just be his regular feathers markings growing back in as he prepares for migration….So I have documented all of this so we will know him if he returns next spring. I sure hope he does. I am somewhat attached to him now. I am also attached to this amazing chick who survived a rough start to end up with a charmed existence, with a doting benefactor. They are defying the usual behaviors…..maybe they will even migrate together! 
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