Trouble In Paradise?…

Yesterday afternoon I looked across the marsh and saw a bald eagle land in a pine tree at the far end. Within minutes I saw another eagle come in from the other direction and land in the same tree. I knew it had to be our resident mated pair so I quickly headed over to check them out. I noticed that the first arrival was the male and he was on the back edge of the tree, while Mrs. Eagle was on the front side, so they were not sitting together as I had seen this past weekend.

I watched them for only about five minutes and saw the male kind of peak around a branch and glance at his mate. Then he turned, crouched down a bit and took off flying across the marsh, beyond the trees and eventually out of sight. I thought she would immediately follow him but she stayed put on her branch.

She remained in that spot for well over an hour occasionally calling out. It is unknown if she was calling for her mate or for another purpose, but he never showed up again. I thought perhaps she was waiting for him to return with a nice fresh caught fish as peace offering but he did not.

Eventually she left the tree as well and as she was flying over the marsh I could see she was looking down apparently in hunt mode. So if Mr. Eagle was supposed to return with food he failed and she seemed to realize she would be on her own for dinner.

41 thoughts on “Trouble In Paradise?…”

Gunta on February 19, 2013 at 4:45 pm said:

That third shot from the end looks like she is mighty determined and pissed off as she launches to find that dirty sob!

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- Phil Lanoue on February 19, 2013 at 7:52 pm said:
  
  I know I had the same thought. But of course it is all speculation. This is what it *looked* like was happening but who knows? I can’t pretend to know the mind of an eagle. 🙂
  
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  - Gunta on February 20, 2013 at 12:53 am said:
    
    I don’t know from eagles either, but I recognize the “look” having been there, done that! 😀
    
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    - Phil Lanoue on February 20, 2013 at 11:31 am said:
      
      Yes I think that “look” is pretty much universal. 😮
      
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roughseasinthemed on February 19, 2013 at 4:46 pm said:

Domestic bliss huh? Or maybe not in this case. Love your interpretation of this couple’s life though.

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- Phil Lanoue on February 19, 2013 at 7:55 pm said:
  
  I’m glad you liked my interpretation here. These photos are exactly how it all happened in that order. But it’s only my fun story about how the events looked to a human standing below a tree. 🙂
  
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pixelspielerei on February 19, 2013 at 5:32 pm said:

Breathless great! 😉

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- Phil Lanoue on February 19, 2013 at 7:55 pm said:
  
  Thanks for looking and glad you like the photos!
  
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janmasyn on February 19, 2013 at 6:27 pm said:

Awesome photo’s Phil, the last one is great.

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- Phil Lanoue on February 19, 2013 at 7:55 pm said:
  
  Thanks very much Jan I appreciate your kind comments.
  
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Sid Dunnebacke on February 19, 2013 at 6:41 pm said:

Keep us posted on further developments, Phil!

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- Phil Lanoue on February 19, 2013 at 7:56 pm said:
  
  Yes I will. I didn’t go back today because it was raining but I’ll be checking on the happy couple frequently.
  
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jimbey on February 19, 2013 at 6:47 pm said:

…. Almost like watching a movie with sub-titles. OK, the plot might be a bit weak (marital trouble – meh) – but you get an Oscar for cinematography!

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- Phil Lanoue on February 19, 2013 at 7:57 pm said:
  
  Thank you much for presenting me with a prestigous award! I have so many to thank. I’ll start with the eagles. 😛 😀
  
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Bella Remy Photography on February 19, 2013 at 9:23 pm said:

Oh she does look annoyed..Maybe why Mr. ran off earlier. BTW, how can you ever tell if its a boy or a girl? Can’t believe you were there for hours just watching them.

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- Phil Lanoue on February 20, 2013 at 11:30 am said:
  
  The female bald eagle is generally larger then the male. We have seen them side by side and the male is younger, his head has not turned totally white yet, he has some dark streaks so we always know it’s him.
  Thanks for checking these out Emily!
  
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Kate on February 19, 2013 at 10:40 pm said:

“Man, if you want anything done, you gotta do it yourself” ; )

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- Phil Lanoue on February 20, 2013 at 11:28 am said:
  
  Yes, looks like she will be catching her own dinner! 🙂
  
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petspeopleandlife on February 19, 2013 at 10:52 pm said:

Beautiful as usual.Wonder if the male is two timing his supposed intended. Also wonder if that ever happens in birdland.

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- Phil Lanoue on February 20, 2013 at 11:27 am said:
  
  Thanks very much! I was wondering the same thing. Could he have another female eagle on the side?!
  But same thing goes for her, we have seen other eagles sniffing about. 🙂
  
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adinparadise on February 19, 2013 at 11:20 pm said:

Sh definitely does not look amused at being stood up. 😯 It’s going to take a lot of humble grovelling, before she forgives him. I’m a woman…..I should know. 😀

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- Phil Lanoue on February 20, 2013 at 11:26 am said:
  
  I’m wondering if he has that whole process figured out yet. He looks kinda young and may still be quite full of himself. I reckon she can set him straight quickly though. 🙂
  
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Garden Walk Garden Talk on February 19, 2013 at 11:21 pm said:

They are mesmerizing, so I can see the time you spent watching them. The last photo is breath taking, literally. Imagine soaring like that?

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- Phil Lanoue on February 20, 2013 at 11:24 am said:
  
  Thanks very much I’m happy you enjoyed these eagle photos!
  Would be amazing to soar like that wouldn’t it?!
  
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thehappyhugger on February 20, 2013 at 2:32 am said:

She must be a stickler for punctuality…Hope Mr Eagle gets the message 🙂

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- Phil Lanoue on February 20, 2013 at 11:24 am said:
  
  He better get the message or he will be sleeping on the couch (or whatever the eagle equivalent is, probably a branch) 🙂
  
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lylekrahn on February 20, 2013 at 2:35 am said:

Beautiful photos, great story but I was waiting for the part where you came in and saved the day so they could live happily ever after!

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- Phil Lanoue on February 20, 2013 at 11:20 am said:
  
  Thanks Lyle glad you liked them. What I left out was that I got photos of the male eagle fraternizing with the opsreys and I threatened to show them to his girlfriend unless he promised to provide me with good action shots whenever I wanted.
  
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  - lylekrahn on February 20, 2013 at 1:10 pm said:
    
    🙂
    
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allemeineleidenschaften on February 20, 2013 at 3:37 am said:

in German, Phil: EINFACH GRANDIOS!!
Terrific, Phil! I so love your photos!

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- Phil Lanoue on February 20, 2013 at 11:21 am said:
  
  Danke, ich bin sehr glücklich Ihnen diese Fotos 🙂
  I greatly appreciate you looking and your very kind comments!
  
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Chris on February 20, 2013 at 12:38 pm said:

Excellent & entertaining series! Thank you for brightening my day!

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- Phil Lanoue on February 20, 2013 at 8:37 pm said:
  
  Hey thanks much for stopping by and commenting Chris! Great to see you here!
  I’m very happy you enjoyed the eagle photos!
  
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Chillbrook on February 20, 2013 at 2:59 pm said:

Incredible pictures again Phil. I do hope this is just a spat between the two of them and they’ll soon be back together.. 😦

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- Phil Lanoue on February 20, 2013 at 8:39 pm said:
  
  Thanks Adrian for the kind words.
  Well I hope they get back together soon as well. We went over again today and saw only one of them.
  I’m kinda concerned, I would have liked to have seen both but never did.
  
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crazytraintotinkytown on February 21, 2013 at 1:46 pm said:

Awh I wanted a happily ever after!

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- Phil Lanoue on February 22, 2013 at 12:20 pm said:
  
  Well looks like they *may* have ironed out their differences. I saw them together yesterday but only for a while.
  One flew off again (I think it was the male) and I did not see it return but it could have just been out looking for food, although drinking beer and gambling with his friends is more likely.
  
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Patrizia M. on February 22, 2013 at 6:09 pm said:

L’hai fatta arrabbiare tu??? Così è volata via 🙂
Scatti stupendi Phill, complimenti
Ciao, Pat

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- Phil Lanoue on February 23, 2013 at 10:52 am said:
  
  Essi non sembrano essere in amore molto questo giorno. Forse domani 😉 😀
  
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Molly Argo on February 23, 2013 at 8:25 pm said:

Unfortunately I never see these beauties where I am. There is a breeding pair that have been around for quite a few years, but their area is only accessible by Airboat and now it’s closed to Airboat traffic. I see them every now and again-but far, far away. Your wonderful photos really show me what I am missing!

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- Phil Lanoue on February 24, 2013 at 11:22 am said:
  
  We are fortunate so far that it looks like this pair could very likely decide to hang around in our area for a while.
  One concern I have though is that it’s possible for an excess of bird watchers and nature photographers to scare them off. Although so far they don’t seem to care much or even pay attention to the people and vehicles that turn up.
  Thanks for checking these out!
  
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