Merritt Island NWR
We heard that the usual spot, Black Point Wildlife Drive wasn’t very productive for birding lately so we decided to visit the baby owls and eagles. That turned out to be a great decision…
Great Horned Owlet on Bairs Cove Rd
Mom Great Horned Owl looking down at her two owlets
Great Horned owlets are very fuzzy when young
Mom Great Horned Owl with the Owlets looking back in my direction
The SR3 eagle nest has 3 eaglets in it
Bald Eagle near the road in a tree
The adult Bald Eagles from the SR3 nest
Bald Eagle in the nice light
Bald Eagle taking off from its perch
Bald Eagle gliding downwards
Bald Eagle flying low over the road as it approaches the roadkill it found earlier
One of the adults flies into the right side of the nest with a piece of roadkill while one of the eaglets screams on the left side of the nest
More screaming eaglets as the adult flies in again
Bald Eagle flying through the trees
The adult Bald Eagles moved across the road to a dead snag
Getting ready to take flight
Bald Eagles will pant when they get hot sitting in the sun
The roadkill armadillo was too heavy to carry back to the nest
Circling back around for another try at it
Bald Eagle eating roadkill
Once the vultures showed up, the eagles had to be on defense mode which includes some serious stare-downs
Hey, what do you have there? Can I have some?
Bald Eagle flying towards me
Coming in hot to drive away the vultures
Even though the eagle still couldn’t fly off with the roadkill, it did move it away from the vultures
Marching across the road with the roadkill
Something about this photo makes a statement with the food hanging off the beak and the deliberate march across the road dragging the roadkill
The eagle was surrounded by vultures
A good look at the roadkill armadillo as the eagle tries again to fly off with it
The Turkey Vulture appears to be making a move on the eagles roadkill
Bald Eagle flying up without its roadkill
The Black Vulture has its eye on the roadkill the eagle has seemingly given up on
The Bald Eagle watched from a nearby tree as the vultures took over the roadkill
A short time later at another nest going north towards Daytona was an eaglet waking up from a nap
And at another nest in Daytona was this eaglet looking around for where mom and dad went and why they haven’t returned with lunch
That was an awesome way to end a great weekend! We celebrated Lynn’s birthday by doing a lot of birding and meeting up with friends for fun times and dinner.