Crosswinds Marsh, May 20, 2010

It has been more than a month since I'd visited the Marsh, looking for my Eagles.

Checking the south end of the Marsh, I couldn't confirm that the horned owl remained on the abandoned eagle's nest. Part of the reason may have been Monday's checkup with the eye doctor, who could get me a new prescription for glasses, but couldn't sharpen the sight as I would have liked because cataracts were robbing me of lens area, and thus a sharp focus. Nothing was blocked, but the light gathering area and focus potential for the lens was diminished.

Another part was looking from the walkways to the north rather than journeying toward the outlet for the marsh and viewing the nest from the east, the area where both the photographer pointed out the nest and from where I spent a very cold April day focusing the spotting scope to make out the head.

I would have been satisfied with a "bump" above the nest, but nothing doing.

The Marsh was pretty deserted, two cars ahead of me in the parking lot, with the second a van where the family was just stirring to go for a walk.

I made my way to the over the water ramp, and began the walk swinging first south from the lot and then northward toward the inhabited eagle's nest. Looking at the tree line, I knew spotting the birds on the nest would be tough, since the spring leaves were now obscuring the branches and the nest site.

As I walked the pathway, I noted the waterfowl on the water, the usual Canada geese, and their new greenish goslings, swans, one with a couple of the "ugly ducklings" family, and a couple of egrets. No gulls, herons, or, amazingly, ducks.

In April on an extremely cold and windy day, the water was spotted in all directions with either ducks, wading herons, and what seemed like hundreds of gulls. The only movement now was the waves and an occasional jumping fish and now chimney swifts circling from around the screened house and out over the water in search of the insects which most likely enticed the fish to jump.