eagle
 

my wife and I saw an eagle flying from store island in melvin bay today. i'm not proficient enough to know if it was a bald eagle but it flew directly over our head , maybe 15' away. a magnificent sight. is anyone aware if they are nesting there?

yikes, posted this on the wrong thread. sorry all

Not sure where you wanted to post.--
But we are near melvin bay and my family thought they saw an eagle fly overhead in senter cove yesterday.
Anybody else been seeing this bird?

Are you certain it was an Eagle? There are several Buzzards that make Melvin Village their home. While sitting at the Pine Cone on any given night you will see several of them. A quick way to tell what they are, although not 100%, is to look at their tail. If the tail is splayed out like spreading your 4 fingers apart on you hand it is most likely an Eagle. If the tail is straight like holding the 4 fingers on your hand together it is probably a Buzzard.
I have seen Eagles in Melvin Village and along 109 up to Moultonborough, but oddly, I have seen none this year in that area. Not saying there aren't any, It is just I have not seen them and I am always looking.

This should give you n idea of what I am trying to describe....

http://www.naturepictures.net/galler...s/5-800adj.jpg

http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.47146...=300&h=300&p=0

I saw an eagle two weeks ago near the Stonedam Island dock. I had a couple minutes to watch it in awe before it flew off.

Round
 

There is a nesting pair on Round Island.

The other way I tell from far below is shown pretty good in your photos. The Eagles feathers on the end of the wing point out. The vultures point back. I believe APS has more info on that.

Eagles on Poplar Island
 

Although the Poplar Island nesting pair were incubating eggs earlier this year, one of the pair was found dead in the water in early summer and the nest "failed." On 8/31/13 we saw a pair of eagles near the large nest that still exists on Poplar - and believe that the surviving eagle has found a new mate and will be using the existing nest next year. Eagles, once they build a nest, usually keep it for many years. They may build an additional nest nearby, but they will continue to enhance an existing nest each year. They can add upwards of 100 pounds of material each year to a nest. It has not been a good year on the lake for loons or eagles in 2013.

Two weeks ago I was out early fishing in my kayak and saw a bald eagle perched on a dead tree on the West side of Diamond. Stayed and watched him for a bit, the I 'whistled' at him and he looked right at me and squawked back, we did this two more times and then he flew off towards Diamond. He circled for awhile and then on the way back to shore I saw him again and he flew into the trees between Lake Shore Park and Samoset. Such a beautiful animal...

Still waiting to see the Osprey that others have seen in that area...

Check out my photo taken last year near marker 52. We often see one in this area each year.

seen at Sandy
 

At least 3 times this summer, I have seen a Bald Eagle on Sandy Island. Once, it flew overhead and perched in a tree overlooking the channel between Sandy and Long Island. Stayed for 15-20 minutes before flying away towards the Broads. So cool!!

bald eagle
 

on Squam lake today we watched two eagles for about a half hr. roosting In a tree and after a while they flew around the area in circles for a while. took some pictures but haven't looked at them yet

:D

visitor
 

Checking on the humming bird population and found this checking out 19 mile bay. No other birds around.

The Thrill of an Eagle Sighting...
 

We've been having daily sightings of eagles this month. They can cover such areas as Round Island, Diamond Island, Sandy Island, and the 'Boro Necks easily within five minutes. Perhaps we are seeing the same Bald Eagle each day, but another—without the white head and tail of the adult Bald Eagle—has us confused, as it could be a female Golden Eagle. (Females being the larger sex in the Eagle clan).

Two days ago, I watched a huge dark bird approach only 50' above the water, and covered the half-mile from the opposite shore before I could get my camera ready. She saw me fiddling—banked sharply away—only to return a minute later in the opposite direction.

(A "hat-tip", thanks to an observant chipmunk's warning call). :)

I managed to get two pictures, but the contrast of a dark brown bird against a dark gray sky took any chance of a positive identification away. 'Course, dropping my camera in the lake hasn't helped its optical-zoom sharpness!

:o

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i1...psedde3fd0.jpghttp://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i1...ps9d5f35e5.jpg

Ospreys are too often robbed of their fish by eagles, so Osprey sightings were forgetful this season: but even Turkey Vulture sightings have been much reduced. :confused:

_______________________________

(ETA, for Wednesday, 9/11:
We had about seven eagle sightings just yesterday—one directly overhead! The occasions may have been a "newly-dead" cormorant nearby. Family members had taken a mid-day boat ride, and said a black Jet-Ski struck the cormorant).

_______________________________

As for confusing the Turkey Vulture and the Osprey with an Eagle, the easiest way is to observe how they hold their wings. While soaring, is your subject bird holding his wings "straight", in a "V", or an "M"—an "M", like a seagull's?

This determination can be made—even from a mile away.

:look:

There are a number of adult and juvenile bald eagles in the Melvin Bay area, and a long-term nesting pair not far away. I've seen them countless times in the Store Island area -- they love to "fish" in Melvin Bay and will move up and down the surrounding shores. They love tall shoreline pines, and we had one on our shore that they'd perch in regularly. I have some good video of one from last year. The "uninhabited" (Melvin Bay-facing) side of Black Island is another good perch. We had a juvenile baldy fumble a fish into the lake right in front of our house a few years ago...pretty funny, seeing a good-sized fish fall from the sky.

Flying on the back of an eagle:

<iframe width="640" height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/G3QrhdfLCO8?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

....oh yeah....isn't that NH state route 49, traveling next to the Mad River in Waterville Valley, about a 30-mile drive from Meredith .... Waterville Valley....source for every drop of water in Lake Winnipesaukee ...which is why it is named Waterville.... just go take a look at a good map!

It's Chamonix, France.

Never saw that before Don. Pretty incredible footage. Thanks.

Don, How did they get the eagle to push the RECORD button on the cam?

GoPro Hero3, Eagle Edition.

I asked a bird expert friend how they get the camera back and he pointed out that it is a captive eagle, trained to return to its handler.

Screaming Eagles
 

While working outside of our cottage on East Bear Island on Sunday morning, I heard wild screeching of birds nearby. I looked up just in time to see three bald eagles land on branches near the shore. What a magnificent sight!!! I called to Brodie, our small Scottish terrier to come closer to the house. The trio then flew off, headed south. There is a large eagle's nest on Round Island. Perhaps they were going there.

Bald Eagle at Spindle Point
 

Saw a lone adult bald eagle this week sitting on some rocks off Spindle Point.