Crosswinds Marsh, February 21, 2010

Visited the location in Wayne County under duress regarding the "local bald eagles."

It had been a long winter, full of climatic traps for these 61-year-old legs. I hadn't visited since the January thaw because I feared slipping, falling, and lying incapable of helping myself on the ice.

The boardwalks weren't the best, but I managed to tippy toe across the ice clogs, and go out into the marsh to look for my target.

The Eagles had moved.

Their nest had been empty for months, but it was unlikely they simply left. The original nest was well know, but the water, and the adjoining heap of trash, was too fruitful for an Eagle's demeanor to ignore.

Some careful observation of the more likely "private Eagle spots" (those which were more in tune with an Eagle's desires for secrecy than the nest that every visitor I encountered over the past years would point out) discovered the perching birds at water's edge, and eventually gliding to the "bump" in the trees which indicated a nesting site.

Good binoculars, and some active exploration found "the bulge" isolated across water and marsh, and eventually totally obscured by leaves next spring.

Surrounding that bulge using periodic observations from dry paths, I triangulated on the "eagle's nest" to the point where I could document it's location on my GPS receiver for future observation after foliage arrives.

Rest assured, the Eagles are in the Marsh. Rest assured, their location is only known to those who want to assure their continued privacy.