My New Hobby...like I need another one

Barb (Bobbie) told me about an owl watch that was going to be on Wednesday. I thought it would be fun to go. Well the weather here on Wednesday was less than ideal. It was pouring rain. I called the Bird Observatory to see if it had been cancelled and rescheduled. Chris told me it was still on and that I should dress appropriately. Luckily the rain stopped. I asked my boss if I could leave a half hour early. Which was okay. Mind you the owl watch was on Jake's Landing Road, which is a half hour from me. So home to do and collect what I had to do and off I went. I found Jake's Landing Road, which is a long road with no houses. It felt like the road that would never end. After awhile it turned into a dirt road which became soft from the rain. Luckily my car is four wheel drive. The road finally opened up to a beautiful marshy area. I was surprised to see so many people. There were four people from the Bird Observatory and they had loner binoculars and high powered scopes. They explained that we may see Short Eared Owls and/or Great Horned Owls. Well we didn't see either, but we saw several Bald Eagles. Karen, from the Observatory said she was sorry that we didn't see any owls. I told her the Eagles were worth it for me. I have said in the past that when I am interested in something I ask lots of questions. This was no exception. She told me that there was an Eagles nest on Beaver Dam Road. She gave me directions, which I couldn't remember, so out came the map. As my luck would have it, there are two Beaver Dam Roads. One off of Route 9 and the other off of Route 47. I asked one of the guys I work with and he said the one off Route 9 goes to a campground. Okay Route 47 it is. So yesterday I gather my camera and binoculars and off I went. This is the same kind of road as Jake's Landing. What a beautiful area. There is a very large lake that I will call Beaver Dam Lake. I was walking along taking pictures and trying to spot the Eagles nest. I was beginning to think I had the wrong location when in the distance I saw what I assumed was the nest. How awesome was this. I did manage to get pictures of this. A guy came walking down the path and I asked him if it was the nest? He said he thought it was. We chatted a little longer and he went on his way. I kept watching through the binoculars and a very large bird landing in a tree not far from the nest. Now was a time I wish I had one of those high powered scopes, because of the distance and even with binoculars, I couldn't make out if it was an Eagle or not. A little bit later, the Bald Eagle flew into the nest. I cannot tell you what an awesome experience this has been for me. I cannot wait to go back to both places and this time Barb is coming with me.

Now the problem with my new hobby. No bathrooms. I guess I should brush up on what poison ivy looks like, huh.

Beaver Dam Lake & Marsh Land

Beaver Dam Lake

Eagles Nest in the distance

Eagles Nest through binocular len

"Life can be seen through your eyes, but it is not fully appreciated until it is seen through your heart" Mary Xavir