M15 is Back !!!!!!

So I turn on the computer click on the cam and who do I get to see . Harriet ,well at least I think it's Harriet. So I check out face book and I hear vocals so I switch back to the cam and it's Slim so I think. OK that so it's early I can deal with the mix up. It's time for me to head to the nest. I arrive get set up and take a few pics. Something Is just not setting right with me I don't know what it is but would find out soon enough. Who I think is Slim drops down into the nest and Harriet is steady vocalizing.I'm giggling think she still doesn't want him in the nest .He hops up to the attic branch and Harriet is still vocalizing.  Both Harriet and what I think is Slim drop down into the nest. They do some aerating then Donna and I  hear the unmistakable vocals there was mating in the nest.It was too
 fast and still a bit dark to get photo's.But still this seemed a bit off for Donna and I ..
 By this time Bob,Jeff, Dave and Wilbur have shown up. Harriet and what we think is Slim are vocalizing and looking around.Both Donna and I commented several times that Harriet was very vocal this morning and wondered what she was seeing. He goes back up to the attic branch then back down in the nest again with Harriet and  again with the vocals. Harriet goes to the veranda and he goes back up to the attic branch. Harriet still vocal and both looking around. he then joins Harriet on the veranda and we are waiting to see "bonding/mating " again.Still we haven't caught on that this is not Slim. Boy were we slow this morning. Harriet goes back into the nest and he follows her. Both aerating again then Harriet hops over to the porch branch. Still with the vocals. from Harriet. By this time a few others have arrived. Bob, Jeff and Dave. Harriet still on the porch being very vocal then he leaves the nest ,flies around the pond and scares off the other bids that are there and flies to the right pond tree.
Who we think is Slim sat on the pond tree for a bit and Harriet still vocal. The  he flies back to the nest tree.
This is when it hit me that this is NOT Slim but M15. Holy Shit ! I let everyone know and they all checked their photo's and sure enough it's M15 . Well I'll be. No wonder it looked like Harriet first thing this morning on the cam and things just weren't sitting right . Know wonder Harriet was so vocal this morning too. Now we really have the story's going about why Harriet had been so vocal . She was fussing at M15 for being gone and how she had to put up with the young'en Slim that stopped by on and on. Poor Harriet .I wonder what she was really thinking about all of this.
Well now we are scrambling to get photo's to prove this is M15. Donna and I know the makers. We let the big lens know also so they can get a better photo. M15 does a PS right into the nest and Jeff just started laughing and said that sealed the deal for him. M15 always did a PS into the nest.. Donna is already by the sidewalk with Wilbur and Dave so I join them after Jeff leaves to go home.
We have a better view of M15's back side. Sure enough we get the shot we need to tell it's M15. We already know it wasn't Slim because of too much white on his head and tail. How in the world we missed this is beyond me.
Even the eyes , how did we miss that. Boy oh boy ....
M15 drops down into the nest with Harriet again. Both aerating then Harriet back to the porch branch and M15 up to the attic branch. Harriet still vocalizing off an on . She roused her feathers then goes to the branch above the attic branch. Those unmistakable vocals start again and M15 hops up next to Harriet but not on top of her so Harriet side kicked him not once but twice . OMG we are just laughing. Harriet would do this to Ozzie . Boy she sure is running on hormones. If her time is still the same with M15 as it was with Ozzie ,she is ready.
M15 still doesn't hop up on Harriet and so Harriet goes to her branch just a fussing and M15 goes way to the other side of the nest tree. Ohh the laughter from all of us. Harriet is sitting looking to the NW  with her back to M15 and he is sitting looking to the SW then turns his back on her. More laughter from those of us still watching. Not to long after this M15 fies off heading in the ESE direction. Harriet watches him leave then preens some then something caught her eye and she is looking n the same direction that M15 took. Soon Harriet leaves heads over the Church then in the same direction as M15 . I watch her circling then out of sight.
Wow what a morning. I just hope Slim is ok and left without a fight. M15 looks good. Have no idea where he has been or when he came home. Of course it had to be some time last night and no one really noticed it was him. Good to have him home. Slim is young and hopefully he will not put up a fight for the nest and territory. M15 spent 6 months  with Harriet and chased off others. This is his home more than it was Slims.  But again only time will tell if Slim comes back.                                

Slim looking around to the NW then NE from the riiight pond tree

I was watching Harriet and Slim on the cam before I left the house .Some time after 4 I think it was , I forgot to note the time both Harriet and Slim are vocalizing. I head for the nest and see Harriet above the attic branch and Slim on the upper right outer branch when I get there.
Both vocalize around 6:13 am. Slim drops down into the nest and Harriet is vocalizing at him.Slim pays her no never mind and is moving a stick around. Slim then heads up to the attic branch. A couple of mins later they both drop down into the nest and are aerating the nest. This is a good sign. Harriet hops on to the porch branch and leaves Slim to aerating the nest. Harriet is vocalizing off and on and Slim goes about what he is doing. Harriet moves to the branch above the attic branch ,then Slim to the attic branch. Both are looking around. Donna is already here ,then Jeff arrives and tells us about the GHO ( Great Horned Owl ) that attacked/went after Harriet last night and how Harriet chased it. This was around 10:00 pm. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXXz-El-IuU
Now we know why they were both on the lookout sore of speak this morning. Slim flies to the right pond tree both are watching to the NW/NE .

Harriet sleeping,Slim up on the higher branch

Harriet

So I 'm watching Slim then turn to see what Harriet is doing. I see her taking a nap. Aww Harriet must have had a ruff night keeping an eye out for the GHO.                      

Harriet snoozing

Slim done with checking the area out flies back to the nest and again is moving a stick around. This is encouraging to see him doing this.

Satisfied with the placement of the stick Slim hops out onto the porch branch. Harriet is still on her branch. 7:54 am Slim heads to the poles. Harriet stays .
Harriet vocalizes off and on and does some preening. Harriet has visitors stop by. Starlings, Grackles, a Shrike, Doves and many others. Around 9:00 am takes off towards the pond area and it looked like maybe she was going after something or maybe just chasing it off. I could see anything but there was Cattle Egrets and a Great Blue Heron by the pond so maybe that's what she scared off..lol
Harriet makes a flight around the back of the pond flying to the right pond tree and vocalizes. Yep I guess she was letting them know it's her pond area. A few crows are back and while Harriet was sitting one crow dive bombs her.

Harriet and a Crow

Harriet tells crow to be gone with itself . Harriet sits and rouses her feathers. I love when she does this She fluffs up all her feathers and shakes.        

Harriet rousing her feathers 

Harriet sits for a bit then flies up to get part of a branch from the tree. Look at how she is looking to her left as she goes up to get the branch. Amazing !

Harriet breaks the branch but only gets a small part of it as the rest falls to the ground.  

                     



Harriet heads back to the nest with the small part of the branch. Done with that Harriet flies up to her perching spot. Then Harriet starts vocalizing like we have heard her do many of times when she see's Ozzie coming . We start looking for Slim and sure enough here he comes from the NW and flies right over and past us to the SSE. Harriet vocalizing the whole time and watching as he goes. Now what a difference this is to observe . Slim seems very independent whereas M15 wasn't in the beginning of their relationship. M15 would follow Harriet all over the place. Maybe it was because E6 was around and he didn't want M15 near his nest ..lol
Harriet goes back to preening. I think she is taking this time to get her feathers all straighten out from the rain and maybe from last night. Before I forget. The reason I think it was a GHO is that there has been one in the area for awhile now. Last Season one almost knocked Harriet off the nest and Ozzie went after it. It has been known for GHO to take over Eagles nest when they are not around or try when they are around.                

Harriet 

Harriet's ruffled panties as I call them..lol

Harriet satisfied with her preening heads off towards the SE at 10:42 am. It's good to see some kind of "normalcy" again. Only time will tell if they will get into "bonding/mating " mood and I hope it's soon. But I know All in Eagle Time ! 

How soon will Slim get the Hint ?

This morning was nice and quiet. No news people ,no one else and No Eagles. Well where are they this morning. As it got lighter out still no sightings of them. I didn't get the time but here they come, Harriet and Slim from the SE across the Publix pond,flying along  the west pasteur tree line straight for the poles.
Well OK then. No stopping to say Hi this morning. The lone Eagle showed up on the cell tower today.
So we sit there talking and waiting to see if they come back. One of the gals goes and checks the poles to see if they are still there which they are. Not to long after she got back we See them flying in the west heading over towards Publix. Both Harriet and Slim are flying together circling each other then close together again , circling, one above the other, then next to each other. Up higher they go until I can't see them any more. I sit and wait to see if they come back down from the clouds and sure enough they do. Flying next to each other then a part and across the road they come and thru the nest area way north and up in the clouds again. I think we all just watched the courting flights. No locking talons and cartwheeling  downward but just flying together. A couple of times it looked like they might grab talons but it didn't happen. Wow. I sit there going back thru my mind and now I realize I have seen this so many times before with Ozzie and Harriet , then PB and Harriet and now I see it for what it is ... Not just flying together but a part of their courtship. I'm just blown away. To see this and have it finally hit home  to what I was witnessing .  I wish I had a good video camera so I could show you what we saw.
Donna then tells me about her visit last night to the nest. Harriet was vocalizing trying to let Slim know that she was hum ready,interested and Slim just vocalizing back and not really getting the hint. Donna was waiting for Harriet to side kick Slim like she did with Ozzie and M15 but she didn't. Slim takes off and Harriet follows right behind him to the tree by Publix.
I have to say this is such at great learning experience for all of us. To see what we saw with Ozzie and Harriet start to come about with M15 and now Slim that M15 still has not been seen since the 23 of Sept.
For Harriet her clock is ticking and she is in the mating mood and her instincts are driving her every move with Slim. How fast he catches on ,only time will tell and I hope it's soon. We know with Ozzie and Harriet's history  that her most fertile time is in November . Will this change with a new mate or does it stay the same I don't know. I have tried looking for any information on this and can't find anything. FWC stated that Eagles in FL could lay eggs as early as Oct ,so I just don't know.
So in the meantime I sit and watch and wait right along with the rest of you and see how this plays out. The photo's are not the best. But Bob did give me some helpful advice on what to do next time I take photo's of any bird up in the sky like today.

Harriet up above ,Slim lower to the left.

In Loving Memory of Ozzie

I was not going to write about the most amazing experience I had Sunday Sept 27th 2015. I was going to keep it near and dear to my heart for as long as I could remember it for the rest of my days.
But now with the turn of events, losing our beautiful Ozzie last night at CROW I will share with you all the story......
Sunday evening I'm scanning facebook looking for any evening reports of Harriet and the new guy I call Slim ,Ozzie and M15 who have been missing since Sept 23rd and Ozzie since Sept 20th. Just hoping to read something about our Eagles. Then there's a post about an Eagle down in Heather Halle's backyard and she thinks it's Ozzie. OMG the SWFEC page just explodes and it's hard to get to Heather's accounts.She said the eagle was on the ground then tried to fly but ended up getting stuck in the barbwire fence the have. They called FWC and was told to wait until Monday before someone could come out there.She was advised my many viewers to call CROW which she did but being Sunday ,she couldn't get a hold of anyone. Thank God Joni O'Neil Henderson volunteers at CROW and was able to get in touch with Heather and tell her what to do for Ozzie . Joni was on the phone with those that she knows at CROW and had them ready and waiting for Ozzie. Heather did say that Ozzie had gotten himself loose from the barbed wire and was on the ground. He was on the ground 5 hrs. He was drinking from their pond. So anyway Joni had asked them to see if they can pick up Ozzie  and move him. They did without any issues from Ozzie and had him on the porch waiting.
All this was going on while I had tried to contact Heather and had no idea she was in contact with Joni. I get a call from Barb and lets me know Joni had talked to Heather and was on her way and could I meet her .I said yes. Then I told Rick what I was about to do. He was very worried for Joni and myself going up on some one's land that did know us and we didn't know them and it's getting dark. He told me NO! Now I'm worried for Joni going by herself. What seemed like forever... Heather finally posted pics of Ozzie and told Rick it's him and I'm going to help Joni!!!
I call Joni to find out where she is at and let her know I will meet her at the gas station when she calls me. In the meantime I'm looking for a big enough box or something we can put Ozzie in. I have nothing. Joni calls and off I go . I meet up with her she has gotten the directions to Heather's home and we deiced my truck would be the best to take Ozzie to CROW.
Now it's dark after 8:000 pm and we are off to get Ozzie.My  heart is racing and I'm sure Joni's is too. We head down the road and finally see rear truck lights with the flashers going. This is the spot, we follow the truck get parked and introduce ourselves. Heather is telling us the story and come to find out this day was her Birthday . Well how amazing is that ?! And to get an unexpected visit form Ozzie too. She  said they see Eagles all the time but never had one stuck in their fence and stay grounded for so long. So we walk up to the front porch and to our right and way back from the front door in the dark a bit stands Ozzie on the blanket they used to cover and carry Ozzie. Ozzie was so quite and still that if you didn't know any better one would have thought he was a statue. I smiled so big and said" Ozzie buddy what have you gone and got yourself into now?'  Ozzie just stood there. He looked tired and maybe closed his eyes a few times. We talked about the box they had  and how we will get Ozzie and put him  in the box. Joni took  her towel walked around behind Ozzie ,I'm in front not very close but enough. Well Ozzie watched Joni walk around on the outside of the porch and come up behind him. Joni stopped and was very quietly talking  to Ozzie when He turned his head sideways to look at her and still keep and eye on me. Now I have to tell you , I'm standing in front of Ozzie like I'm gong to catch him if he  tries to fly off right?  Ohh sure ! What would be your first reaction if you had an Eagle flying right at you ??? Yep duck came to my mind too.
Well thank God we didn't have to worry with that scenario. Joni put the towel over Ozzie's head and wrapped the rest around him and his talons  securely. Now we have our bundle of Ozzie . Heather and her hubby were readying the tote they had. Both Joni and I decided we would leave Ozzie in her arms all wrapped up and get in the truck and go. We thank them for letting everyone know and for taking such good care of Ozzie until. we got there.  As Heather's Hubby and I  are loading Joni and Ozzie in the truck Heather comes out of the house with  their daughter and she waves bye,bye to Ozzie. OMG that was soo sweet .  
 So off we go  heading to CROW. Joni is in the back set with Ozzie just talking so soft and sweet to Ozzie. He is very relaxed and I'm Ozzie and miss Daisy's Chauffeur...LOL We had to stop at the convenience store real quick. Before I left the house to meet with Joni in the first place, my check oil light comes on ..  so I had to get a quart of oil.Soo I pull in leave the truck on and get my oil. Ok with that all done off we go again. Joni and I  are talking then Joni talks so softly to Ozzie . Again I ask Ozzie what has he gotten himself into . Of course you know he doesn't answer me. At one point Joni says "I think he isn't breathing" OMG I said don't say that. Joni said 'Oh no,He's breathing"  I think Ozzie was just so relaxed sitting in Joni's arms and her talking so softly and sweet to him.
At one stop light Joni said "Dee turn around " so I did and there is Ozzie looking at me . Awww I just melted. Kiddling I  told Joni maybe you should keep his eyes covered so he couldn't see how fast I was going and the street light whizzing by.LOL... No I was doing the speed limit. I had precious cargo  with me  and I wanted to get all of  us there safe and sound. A couple of times Ozzie got a little antsy and I had to close up my window. Could you imagine the look on other people's faces seeing  a full grown Eagle flying out my window not to mention the possible claw markers I would have and a accident to boot. Try to explain that one to the cops and your insurance company.
We pay the toll and over the bridge we go heading for CROW. Oh my it's so dark out there and I have no idea where we're going so Joni had to tell me.
Finally we get to the dive and in we go back to the Hospital . They are waiting for because of Joni calling them. I park get out and don't you know I find that one rock that I end up twisting my left ankle. OMG I'm seeing stars and not the ones in the sky.I'm surprised I didn't scare Ozzie and Joni when I grabbed a hold of the truck. I steaded myself and walk around to open the door for Joni. Up the stairs and they open the door for us. Joni walks in and hands over Ozzie to the very capable people that have waited for us to get him there. They gently lay Ozzie down on the examining table, I head the the restroom and Joni is telling them all that she knows. I come back,Joni is filling out a report and I'm peeking around the doorframe watching. They are so gentle.I think it's Dr Molly that is checking Ozzie out. Every bone in this wings , his breast bone,moving his wings and checking the wounds. Then checked his talons and I was looking at his pinky toe real good. It looked better than what we thought it would. They give us just a quick assessment. Oh and they weighed him too.
Of course Joni and I are like to mother hens watching every move they made to make sure Ozzie was ok.Satisfied that they did a good job and plus they told us he would have ex-rays and all tomorrow ,we left Ozzie in great care.  Joni and I leave and head home. Both just soo excited and feeling good knowing Ozzie was in good hands now.
Joni lets the others know Ozzie's ok from just the quick check up and will have more in the morning after CROW's Dr Barron Had a chance to check him over.
I take Joni back to her car and head home feeling good knowing where Ozzie was at. I arrive home at 11:00 pm. I check facebook real quick then go to bed.
The rest you all know.

So now here we are..........

I don't know if you all know or remember ,we lost two very dear friends from the nest this yr. I have heard it said it runs in three's . Well we've had our third and now Ozzie ,Nora and Jim are flying high and free. Please keep watch over us all here .Ozzie fly with E3 & E5 and keep an Eagle eye on Harriet As she now tries to find her way with out you. And Please watch over PB/FV/M15 where he maybe and if he is with you.....Be Nice

Ozzie my Buddy... I will always remember you and miss you with all my heart !

Ozzie 9/19/14........
RIP Sweet Ozzie
9/29/15