Sandy
01-07-2007, 08:23 PM
On a quick one-night trip to Austin, I stopped by the Llano eagle nest
twice: once on Saturday morning about noon when it was very cold and
dreary followed by a visit today also at noon when it was much warmer and sunny. On Saturday, there was absolutely no sign of any eagles in the area and I was told that normally one sees at least 1 of the 3 adults protecting the 2 babies who are believed to have been born Dec. 27 and Jan 2. Perhaps it was so cold and damp that the eagle on the nest was so hunkered down keeping the babies warm that you couldn't see any body part above the top of the nest.
Today it was a different story but an unsettling one. Lots of cars were
pulled off on the shoulder of the highway enjoying the spectacle of the
one adult taking care of the babies. She (or he) flew off at one point and
caught a fish, brought it back to the nest and perched on an edge of
the nest with her tail end up in the air tearing the fish apart to feed the
babies. Shortly afterwards, she jumped on a higher nearby branch of the
same live oak tree holding the hugh nest and then flew away.
Some of the veteran watchers were alarmed and told me that that was
highly unusual, i.e., to leave the nest unguarded. People fear that something has happened to the other two adults, one theory being that nearby farmers may have put out poison to kill rats which the eagles have eaten and subsequently been poisoned themselves. Typically one eagle stays at the nest, another plays the role of sentinel and a third goes hunting for the whole group.
Soon we saw two Red-Tailed Hawks circling the area and coming closer
and we feared the worst. But the adult eagle came back very quickly - this time with no fish from the nearby Llano River. I hope the next time I go back maybe in March there will be two babies ready to fledge but I know it will be difficult for one adult to take care of them.
This is the 5th or 6th year that this nest has been active but here are
the directions in case you don't know where it is: go west on Highway 29
from Burnet toward Lake Buchanan. The nest is between RR1431 and Llano on the left side of the road. There is a sign saying something about slow traffic entering the road and a dirt parking area. If anyone goes to the nest in the next couple of weeks, I'd certainly appreciate an updated report.
twice: once on Saturday morning about noon when it was very cold and
dreary followed by a visit today also at noon when it was much warmer and sunny. On Saturday, there was absolutely no sign of any eagles in the area and I was told that normally one sees at least 1 of the 3 adults protecting the 2 babies who are believed to have been born Dec. 27 and Jan 2. Perhaps it was so cold and damp that the eagle on the nest was so hunkered down keeping the babies warm that you couldn't see any body part above the top of the nest.
Today it was a different story but an unsettling one. Lots of cars were
pulled off on the shoulder of the highway enjoying the spectacle of the
one adult taking care of the babies. She (or he) flew off at one point and
caught a fish, brought it back to the nest and perched on an edge of
the nest with her tail end up in the air tearing the fish apart to feed the
babies. Shortly afterwards, she jumped on a higher nearby branch of the
same live oak tree holding the hugh nest and then flew away.
Some of the veteran watchers were alarmed and told me that that was
highly unusual, i.e., to leave the nest unguarded. People fear that something has happened to the other two adults, one theory being that nearby farmers may have put out poison to kill rats which the eagles have eaten and subsequently been poisoned themselves. Typically one eagle stays at the nest, another plays the role of sentinel and a third goes hunting for the whole group.
Soon we saw two Red-Tailed Hawks circling the area and coming closer
and we feared the worst. But the adult eagle came back very quickly - this time with no fish from the nearby Llano River. I hope the next time I go back maybe in March there will be two babies ready to fledge but I know it will be difficult for one adult to take care of them.
This is the 5th or 6th year that this nest has been active but here are
the directions in case you don't know where it is: go west on Highway 29
from Burnet toward Lake Buchanan. The nest is between RR1431 and Llano on the left side of the road. There is a sign saying something about slow traffic entering the road and a dirt parking area. If anyone goes to the nest in the next couple of weeks, I'd certainly appreciate an updated report.