Juvenile Bald Eagle on Buckhorn Lake
Eastern Hemlock near Curve Lake First Nation
Today, David Beaucage Johnson took me out to see the eagles that have once again nested on a small island on Buckhorn Lake, just to the east of Fox Island. We were able to see one mostly-dark juvenile bird perched in a tree adjacent to the nest and one adult. The adult still had several dark feathers on its tail and head, making us wonder if it has not yet acquired full adult plumage. However, David tells me that it is indeed one of the parent eagles. Eagles are able to mate at four years of age (the possible age of this adult) and apparently some adults do show dark feathers on the head and tail even beyond the age of four. Two eaglets were raised this summer, but we were only able to locate one of the birds. Some other birds of interest seen included Double-crested Cormorant (70+), Caspian Tern, Osprey (8) and Wood Duck (8).
David also showed me large expanses of Wild Rice around Fox Island and, on the island itself, two huge trees. We saw an American Basswood with a circumference of close to 14 feet and a Red Oak that was close to 16 feet in circumference. Just east of the reserve (off of County Road 22), David also showed me a huge Eastern Hemlock with a circumference of 12′ at breast height. We also came across a small pre-migration flock of warblers and vireos that included Black-and-white (5), Black-throated Green (2), Chestnut-sided (1), Pine (2), Magnolia (1) and Red-eyed Vireo (4).
