Sunday, April 27, 2008

Sunday in the Turkey Blind

The wind died down overnight and there were clear skies and a half-moon as we hiked to our turkey blind at 5 AM today. It was still cold (around 30 degrees) but I had my blanket to wrap up in and we knew once the sun was up the day would be warmer.

We heard at least 3 turkeys gobbling right across the ridge from us, but were unable to call them over, so it was another long day of waiting for turkeys that never showed up. However, I had plenty of time for reading. Yesterday I finished "The Friday Night Knitting Club" and today I read "Tell Me Where It Hurts."







I still managed to work in a couple naps and by afternoon the sun had warmed up our blind enough that I was able to finally take off my gloves and knit a few rows.

For most of the day, we heard a woodpecker "sounding off" on the trees near our blind. I finally located who was making all the racket--it was a Hairy Woodpecker. I was able to capture this short video from the front window of our blind.



Before we left to come home, I walked over to the edge of the bluff to photograph the eagle's nest across the valley. The nest is in the top of a big white pine. I bet that nest was blowing at least 15 feet back and forth in yesterday's high winds.
When the adult eagle is not in the nest I can see something white sticking up that I think might be a chick, but I can't tell with just binoculars.

I'm so glad I finally found the location of this nest and have been able to get some photos and the chance to watch the eagles come and go.
Tomorrow's weather report sounds similar to what we had on Saturday (snow/rain mix, windy and cold) so I'm going back to work and will take Wednesday off instead when the weather is supposed to be warmer.

P.S. I just checked my stats and this is Blog Post #300!! Another reason for a celebration cake!

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sorry you didn't get a turkey today, the weather was a lot better and warmer. I liked the pics of the eagles nest. The book Tell Me Where It Hurts sure has a cute picture of "Chet Baker" on it. [It sure does look like him]. Thanks for all the nice pics.
Mom

Ruth said...

What a view of the Eagle's nest! Your cold weather is coming our way tomorrow. Good thing I left my winter coat out.

Meggie said...

Sorry you and Mr. J didn't get any turkey but I'm happy you had a chance to read and knit. The eagle photos are great...but I'm happy that I was in warmer temps.

Jayne said...

Congratulations Ruthie on the milestone post! So cool to be able to see those Eagles. :c)

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Congrats on #300. Wow!!!
I bet that is an eaglets head you see in the nest. Great pictures.

RuthieJ said...

Hi Mom,
I was glad it was a nicer day too. Once the leaves are on the trees again, it will be a lot harder to see that eagle's nest.

Hi Ruth,
Sorry about the cold weather--I just hope you don't get the snow too!

Hi Meggie,
Like I said in a previous post--turkeys are the hardest critter to hunt (especially with a bow) because they are just so unpredictable.

Hi Jayne,
I was hoping the 300th would be a story about me and a turkey, but I think finding and photographing the eagle's nest is just as exciting!

Hi Lisa,
I was thinking it could be an eaglet also, but I can tell if it ever moves or not. I'll be back down there on Wednesday to check and I'll taking my spotting scope to try and get a better look at it. Update to follow.....

Marsha said...

Congratulations on the 300th post, Ruthie! I love the eagle on the nest photo...how lucky to be able to capture that.

Windyridge said...

Wow what a fantastic find for you and the photos are to be cherished. I've only seen an eagle on my drive to Connecticut, but people see them here frequently. Not I.

My youngest son went out turkey hunting and had a few hens and gobblers nearby but none close enough to shoot.

nina at Nature Remains. said...

Happy 300th, Ruthie.
Your day waiting sound lovely.
What a treasure to have a day to yourself, even if it didn't produce a turkey.
I'd take a nest of eagles any day!

Mary said...

Congrats on 300! You've been busier than I - I think I'm around 327 or so but I've been blogging six months more than you!!! LOL!

I'd keel over with excitement to see a Bald Eagle nest.

Did you like that book with the BOSTON TERRIER on the cover?

Mary C said...

Happy 300th, Ruthie! I'm approaching 100 (got 8 more to go). What's "The Friday Night Knitting Club" about? Title sounds interesting. I loved your hairy WP video. Boy, they can sure be noisy. And those eagle nest photos - so cool!

RuthieJ said...

Hi Marsha,
Thank you. I've been trying to locate the eagle's nest since last winter when I saw the pair flying around this area. When we were putting up the blind last Friday, I finally got a chance to see one land in a tree and with my binocs discovered the nest--that was pretty exciting.

Hi Windyridge,
That eagle's nest is pretty special for sure. It's located in an area that I'm pretty sure will never be developed. The person who owns the property has a little cabin down there and I should call him someday to find out if he even knows there are eagles nesting there!
No turkey for Mr. Johnson yesterday either. They're wily birds & have come off roost in a different spot each day so far.

Hi Nina,
Other than being cold, it was a pretty satisfying day for me too. I couldn't see the eagles from the blind, but every so often you'd see their shadow on the ground as they flew over and also hear them calling. I really enjoyed the peace & quiet.

Hi Mary,
Thanks. I'm still kind of amazed that I have enough stuff to talk about for 300 posts!
I really enjoyed the "Tell Me Where It Hurts" book. The stories made me laugh and cry and as a pet owner/lover, could identify with all of them. It gave me a better understanding of the vet's occupation too.

Hi MaryC,
Thank you....the posts really do add up pretty fast, don't they?
I heard about "The Friday Night Knitting Club" from Lynne at HastyBrook. It was a great story about the lives of several different women and knitting as the tie that bound them together. Thinking back now, I wonder if I haven't seen somewhere that it's going to be made into a movie?? I actually enjoyed it much more than the Debbie Macomber books about women's knitting groups. I think you would like it--I really enjoyed the different personalities of all the characters in the book.

Robin (Bumblebee) said...

Ruthie, come to my house. You can sit in our comfortable family room and look at the turkeys in the back yard!
Yep, they have been ambling through. We can hear them calling in the woods when we're outside. What a wonderful sound!

Robin at Bumblebee

Anonymous said...

Enjoyed catching up on all your posts and your turkey hunt. Wonderful video of the jumping deer. Great eagle pictures! That eagle's nest is amazing. Congratulations on Blog Post #300!

Anonymous said...

Wow! Happy 300th post! Love the eagle shots. Isn't it so cool that we now see eagles? Not so when we were kids!

I know I'm late commenting on this post... did you ever get a turkey?