An Easter Update

Edith has brought us a nice Spring gift. Seven new arrivals. The last from the egg had a real struggle--we thought she was a goner. But with lots of prodding from mom, she made it to the water's edge and tonight she is just one of the gang.

HAPPY EASTER

From Edith, the Treasure Island Goose, (Bert is on the night shift)

The Bald Eagle Returns

The morning is off with a bang. We were having the morning cup of coffee and looking out over the front yard when the bald Eagle appeared--wham--on the lawn near the flag pole. We were thunderstruck at his instant appearance, and it took a moment or two to choose between the binoculars and the camera (sorry, it was the binoculars). He hesitated a moment and then took flight. It was then that we realized he had something rather large in his grasp. He flew effortlessly to the tree at the point and commenced his own version--I suppose--of morning refreshment. It took quite a bit of binocular gazing to even guess at the hapless victim. There were feathers--and we know the yard had blackbirds visiting--so that is our best guess.

The visit was capped in a most unusual way. We heard the alarm of a goose--and in came a very agitated goose right for the eagle. Most surprising. The goose won out in this confrontation--driving the eagle from his breakfast, and harrying him all the way toward the airport. We are now left with quite a pile of entrails on the branch at the point tree. I'll have to figure a way to get at them before they become a fly hatchery.

A most unusual beginning to a day on Treasure Island.

PS Two hours have passed. I love it when procrastination works! We now have a very large crow at the point tree finishing off what the Eagle left behind. Nothing goes to waste in the natural world.

PPS It is now evening and the remains of the remains fell from the limb to the top of the sea wall. All that was left was a beak and a spine. We can now see that this was a Coot. He was distinguished by the lure that was firmly driven through his beek--probably why he was in the yard instead of on the water. It was one of those worm lures--probably left snagged in a lily pad until our friend encountered it. Nature does have a way of weeding out the weak.

Kayaks Rule

Well, the lake is stirring, but not the big boats at the moment. We do have the bass boats, and we even saw our first waterskier over the weekend. However, the lake is mostly calm and free of boat wakes at this time of year--and the more timid forms of water fowl are still easily reached by kayak. We were out this morning and found white and grey heron, mute swans, lots of mud hens, and geese everywhere as they manned their nests on the south shore. The lily pads are still forming just under the surface. A perfect day to glide about and sample the new found Spring.

White Pelicans

My favorite memory from my first sailing trip to Mexico from San Franciso has to do with arrival at Puerto Vallarta. It was a fairly tough sail, so I kind of staggered to shore (you loose your land legs after a couple of weeks) and found myself a recliner on the beach. I opened a Corona and stared at the sky--just in time to see this amazing formation of Pelicans fly overhead. Not your normal kind of gray and dingy pelicans from San Francisco--but a group of snow white and amazing pelicans from the Pacific.

Imagine my delight last year when I spotted the same beautiful creatures on Lake Manitou. Now, we have a report via the Rochester Sentinel that a flock has come to visit us today. They are passing through--but what a pleasure to know they are here. They are presently in Rain Creek, but we're hoping for a visit on Manitou.

Sunrise on Open Water

Well, we had our first "Spring" day yesterday. A high of 72 degrees. A nice break from winter. Spring comes in fits and starts in the Midwest. Lots of cold days to come--but also lots of sunshine. As a wise man once said, "It takes a Winter spent to truly appreciate the Spring."

Strangers Passing Through

We have two loons making themselves at home on the lake. We only enjoy them for a brief time. They like their water cold! They are on their way north. They are under the water as much as they are on top of it. You will seldom see them on shore as their bodies are so long--and their legs set so far back--that they can just barely walk on land. They don't seem to sing when they are in transit. Their call was one of the great memories of my fishing trips to Quebec--but there's not so much as a peep around Lake Manitou.

A note on the photographs of birds for this blog. They are off the internet. My peanut camera just can't do justice to the birds. Back in the old days I had a 500mm lens--and that just barely got the job done.