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| IWS Catalina Tours Awarded from '07 NAC - 2008; Sharing the experience | |
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| Topic Started: Aug 23 2008, 04:31 PM (562 Views) | |
| EDblue | Aug 23 2008, 04:31 PM Post #1 |
Eagleholic
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88Keys/Carol -- Oct 2 2007 Hi, Everyone, MH and I went to Catalina last weekend to attend the family celebration of my sister-in-law's 60th birthday, and we were able to "collect on" my IWS tour. I'll try to give a more detailed account at another time, but am going to post some of the photos that we took--a first for me on the forum. Hope it works! Here's  with the "fake parent" used to feed the  hatched at IWS. Listening for  signals.... Our Boys    PIMU   Inspecting a  caught by   An up-close view of an  in the wild View of another one through Dr. Sharpe's telescope  Guess that's my 10-photo limit. To be continued..... click on the photos to enlarge |
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| EDblue | Aug 23 2008, 04:33 PM Post #2 |
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88Keys/Carol -- Oct 2 2007 And a few more-- On the west side of the island  THE NEXT DAY: two views of Avalon, taken on our warm-up hike for October 6th    Deer right next to the road. Dr. S. says food is scarce, so they must be out all day looking for it. They weren't the least bit bothered by all the people who stopped to watch them.  Guess who happened to drive by while we were hiking!  Here I am by the life-sized replica of an 's nest, with one of the many local artsy eagles in the background. The plaque has a photo of using the fake parent. click on the photos to enlarge |
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| EDblue | Aug 23 2008, 04:34 PM Post #3 |
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88Keys/Carol -- Oct 2 2007 It's Written Report Time! All of your comments about the  are greatly appreciated!Our boat was a little late getting into Avalon, so we really had to hustle to our hotel. We quickly checked in, threw our stuff into the room and headed up the street to IWS HQ. Didn't want to be late and keep whoever would open the door waiting. "Whoever" turned out to be Dr. Sharpe himself. I thought later that we should have asked him what he likes to be called.  He showed us around home base first--the office and his latest gadgets, the very sophisticated egg incubators, and the human premie incubator, where the  's are kept and fed by the eagle-head-covered human hand. Now THAT's a fun device!Then we took off in the IWS vehicle and were given a very generous tour of a good bit of the larger part of Catalina. MH and I love that sort of adventure, with its "sort-of" roads. :lol: The day was a bit murky, but we had no rain, and the weather in no way diminished the beauty of the island. We couldn't go to any eagle nests, but the locations of a couple were pointed out. kept his signaling device on in the truck and used the antenna outside a time or two. At Thompson Reservoir we saw plenty of bison down at one end. Dr. S set up his telescope so that we could see across to the other side, and when I looked in it, there was K-93! That was a very exciting moment! Then was getting very strong signals from practically overhead, but couldn't see anyone. Then he discovered that the in the tree over us had been obscured by another branch. We felt very fortunate to see one so close, and Peter got a photo of it that he thought would make next year's calendar! CDN-CDN/CHERYL, we don't think he mentioned a number for that one, and I wasn't able to see one.We were, of course, just knocked out by our up-close visit with Pimu and Hyde--both such gorgeous creatures! At first they seemed a bit excitable by the presence of two newbies, but then settled down. Peter disappeared into a storage area for awhile and came back with a goodie sack that included pieces of raw meat, a dead bird, and the fish in the photo. Yuumm! :lol: I can't remember that either of them took anything directly from his hand. Pimu was especially entertaining with the >)): . After checking it out (or was she mantling?), she limped across her yard, dragging it with one foot. Then she carried it up to her perch and proceeded to make hash out of it.  LADYDI, I love that straight-on shot of Pimu, too--makes me big time, or even  .HARPO/DEB, I asked about the fox, and Peter said we could go see her if we wanted to. When we got to her enclosure, we found signs saying that she couldn't have visitors. She had had surgery to repair a torn ligament (I think) in her leg and was recuperating in the little vet. building. Peter checked out the situation and said we could spend a quiet minute with her. It was pretty dark in there, and my prescription sunglasses didn't help, but it was obvious that Tachi luuuuuuuuuvs Petey. She poked her little snout through the cage, and her big bushy tail was REALLY wagging the rest of her tiny self!!! SOOOOO cute.  On the way back to town, we stopped briefly at the Airport-in-the-Sky and watched the mail plane take off. Then after a total of about five hours, our very NICE guide deposited us at the door of our hotel. This is a great thing  that he does, so Dr. S., if you're watching, thank you, thank you again!!!!!! The rest of the weekend was bright and  and we had a great time with the family. Also ran into Debra Messing at breakfast the next day! She was surrounded by production-looking peeps. So that was our weekend on Catalina. Thanks for reading.
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| EDblue | Aug 23 2008, 04:37 PM Post #4 |
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SoCal Lady/Karen -- Nov 4 2007 IWS TOUR---We returned this early evening from Catalina---our tour was yesterday, Friday. Super Steffani took us on our tour---she is fantastic----she gave us her Interior Tour on how and where she spends her days. Before setting out, Steffani took us to meet the Famous Dr. Sharpe  and his tour of the Egg Room and Incubator area.We talked Eagles all day---Loved Every Minute of our time with Steffani! We did not see any of the Wild Eagles---but got readings on 4 of them, on her tracking monitor---See if I have the numbers right---75, 77 56 and64---even though we did not get to see them, we were excited to know they were out and about. The big thrill was to see Hyde and Pimu----we watched Steffani from the viewing area distance do her training with them both. Both Eagles vocalized a lot for her. It was so nice to see Pimu fly up and down from her perch to retrieve the food Steffani put on her rail perch. Steffani said this was a good way to get Pimu to excercise---and Pimu did about a dozen fly downs and then back up to her favorite "shelf" after each retrieve of the food. Steffani put just one piece of pork there each time. Hyde is quite handsome as you all know and he "talks" to Steffani quite a bit. The hours Steffani spends in the field, tracking, observing the Eagles is mind boggeling, and now having seen the terrain she and Peter cover to and from the nests is astounding! Seal Rocks Nest is just beautiful---as Steffani has always said---she showed us through her scope--the setting is enchanting---and it appears to be protected from much of the adverse winds and the tree gives shade, just like she reports. DH and I enjoyed every minute of the Tour, and I feel so happy having been able to see so much of the Island and Terrain that the Eagles we all love fly over and view each day of their lives there on Catalina. The land view of Twin Rock Nest Peak is even more beautiful than from the sea. Oh, we saw the little Island Fox, Tachi, she is a real corker-- We will work on our photos of the Island and post in the days to come. For those of you who have already taken tour in the past, you know how wonderful an experience it is-----for those of you who have this treat ahead of you---you will find great joy in the day ----Steffani and Peter----are the BEST! |
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| EDblue | Aug 23 2008, 04:39 PM Post #5 |
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SoCal Lady/Karen -- Nov 4 2007 PICTURES--FROM OUR IWS TOUR, NOV.2ND, WITH STEFFANI Back Side of Peak Above TR Nest - These 3 Photos gives ideas of how far IWS Staff have to Hike and Climb up and over the peak to get down to the Nest, which overlooks the Ocean.    BEN WESTON BEACH  Steffani-Intrepid Eagle Hunter  TACHI WITH CALVIN-WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST WITH THE FOX PROJECT     LOVELY PIMU BEFORE HER "WORK-OUT"  click on the photos to enlarge |
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| EDblue | Aug 23 2008, 04:41 PM Post #6 |
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SoCal Lady/Karen -- Nov 4 2007 AND HERE WE GO -- ENJOY PIMU'S EXERISE CLASS PIMU'S WORKOUT BEGINS    PIMU'S BEAUTIFUL WINGS-FLYING UP TO & LANDING ON HER "SHELF"   AND NOW HANDSOME HYDE ABOUT TO BEGIN HIS TRAINING WITH STEFFANI    click on the photos to enlarge |
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| EDblue | Aug 23 2008, 04:42 PM Post #7 |
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SoCal Lady/Karen -- Nov 4 2007 HYDE NOW BEGINS HIS FLIGHT TO THE OTHER PERCH AND TO STEFFANI   COMING IN FOR AN ALMOST CRASH TYPE LANDING  HE MADE IT AND NOW HE AND STEFFANI ENJOY EACH OTHERS COMPANY    HYDE TAKES THE FOOD VERY GENTLY FROM STEFFANI'S FINGERS  TEACHER AND STUDENT  AND-LAST- BUT NOT THE LEAST OF THEM-- A BEAUTIFUL RAVEN "GOING UP"  AND THAT'S ALL FOLKS! IT WAS A GLORIOUS DAY THAT MY HUSBAND AND I WILL ALWAYS CHERISH ----AS I SAID IN MY REPORT ---STEFFANI AND PETER ARE THE BEST! click on the photos to enlarge |
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| EDblue | Aug 23 2008, 04:44 PM Post #8 |
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circlescribe/Kris -- Nov 11 2007 Part One: IWS Tour November 1, 2007 Apologies for the delay in getting this report posted. Everything has conspired to consume my time and it’s been forced to be done in stages. As you’ve probably heard me mention, we had originally scheduled our IWS Tour for Thursday, October 25, but the raging Southern California wildfires had caused so much smoke to blow out over the islands that we had to postpone it, especially because my DH, Ed, has serious asthma problems and he couldn’t tolerate the air quality. Dr. Sharpe told us that the ash falling in Avalon that week was worse than in many areas closer to the fires. Unfortunately, the rescheduled trip also meant we missed watching the rising of the romantic Full Moon of November 1st, from the boat on the way back, when we would have been returning from Avalon for the third time since we were married there in September of 1995. There have been so many wonderful reports and images of past tours that I’ll try not to cover too much repetitive ground, and just describe our highlights, with a few historic notes and related images added. We live relatively close, an hours’ drive or so, to the harbor the boats to Avalon leave from, making it an easy day trip. We took the Catalina Express to Avalon with our friend, David Mitchell, who some of you will remember from the Santa Cruz trip in October. He’s the photographer who took some of the amazing photos I posted of that trip. He’s a freelance photographer, and his photos are always just exquisite. He shot some wonderful photos of Pimu and Hyde, which is an extra good thing in this case, as you’ll soon learn why. We arrived at Avalon to find Dr. Sharpe waiting for us at the landing. He first took us to the office and incubation facility where he described the amazing technology and pioneering techniques that he’s developed himself, to increase the success rate of the eggs hatching. He’s discovered techniques and variables that have increased the hatch rate from the low 17% of a previous project of I think he said the San Diego Zoo, to a well over 70%, which is no doubt one of the reasons the Restoration Project has been so successful. We then set out in his truck on a long looping path toward the hilltops. The infamous Bolivian “Death Road”  crossed both my, and my DH’s mind at times along the narrow, bumpy, and precipitous dirt road path, though neither of us mentioned it until later. The views were spectacular, and partially shrouded in fog, which spared us some of the most dizzying views. I figured Dr. Sharpe had driven it thousands of times and probably could do it in his sleep, so I really didn’t feel (too) nervous. We stopped at a place to try to pick up Eagles with the transmitter receiver, but no luck there, so we went on to where Pimu and Hyde live, seeing some lovely countryside and wildlife along the way, although the vast area of fire scarred land was so sad to see. I found myself pondering how ironic it was this fire had burned the power poles and cut the Catalina cameras off, resulting in the whole attention of the nest watching forum being focused on Limuw, who would so tragically, and prematurely be lost. It was as if he was given that special gift of everyone’s overflowing love and attention in advance of his ultimate sacrifice, that elevated him to a heroic and legendary status, and created such a poignant icon for the project that gave him life.  You might wonder where the photos of our adventure are so far...well, Dr. Sharpe ACCIDENTALLY ERASED ALL OF THEM from my camera while trying to film K-93 through his spotting scope at the reservoir! All my Pimus, Hydes, and everything inbetween - GONE. Very fortunately, our friend Dave had his excellent camera with him and will give us a CD of his shots when we next see him, so Pimu and Hyde will be represented in this report in spite of it. So I couldn’t worry about the lost pics, especially considering what a gracious, patient, charming, and informative host Dr. Sharpe was to us, and to our continuous barage of questions, throughout the day. And added to that: he had brought his famous homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies on top of it all! We couldn’t have asked for a better guide or for more hospitality. We were amazed and thrilled to meet Pimu and Hyde, and to be able to go into their enclosures to get a close up look at them, and take some pictures. I had just gotten my camera and was not familiar with it’s functions, so I’m sure the erased pics were not a great loss, especially when Dave took many himself, that he’s generously sharing with us and I will post here when we get them. They are just indescribably magnificent to see in person. Hyde was stomping around on his ledge perch like he wasn't too pleased with the intrusion and wanted us to know it was his territory. It was a bit unnerving and exciting at the same time to duck and scurry through his enclosure, with him occasionally flying back and forth across the path where we had to enter and exit, knowing we could have a close encounter at any moment. After meeting Pimu and Hyde we continued on the narrow dirt road that winds through the wilderness of the island’s interior, passing a very few small ranches and houses on the way, and then arrived at the reservoir where we were delighted to find magnificent K-93 sitting high up in a tree on the opposite bank. After the disastrous erasing of images, Dr. Sharpe made it all up by photographing K-93 through his spotting scope, and even a short camera video clip too. Here he is through Dr. S.’s scope with my camera, with color and contrast increased to bring out detail.   And K-93 in a wider, normal shot, cropped in to better show him in his environment, and his tree. Dr. S. says he’s guarding his territory and waiting for his potential mate to return to hopefully build a nest there in the Spring. We passed this gorgeous male Buffalo just off the the road near Shark Harbor after the reservoir. DH found a tuft of Buffalo hair, which is surprisingly soft, that he brought back as a souvenier. (My unexplored theory on the origins of the word ‘souvenier’: From ‘sou’, like costing a penny, or ‘cheap’; and venir: as in Spanish for ‘to come’ , meaning: to come back from a trip with an inexpensive memento. I’ve got more, wanna’ hear ‘em?) I resisted asking EagleGuy if I could collect the petrified Buffalo Chip I saw on the ground near the airport as a souvenier. It was like a piece of art. Didn’t want him to think I was too :wacko:  We continued on toward where Tachi lives. On the way a radio signal was picked up and we eventually spotted its source; it was apparently K-75, a young male hatched from the Twin Rocks nest this Spring, was soaring high in the patchy fog above us. This is a cropped in video frame grab of him.  Tachi lives in a lovely, landscaped environment at a facility some miles from Pimu and Hyde, where she excitedly greeted Dr. Sharpe when he went into the enclosure, like a puppy or a very friendly kitty, rubbing so cutely around his ankles and rolling over to be pet. She is the most adorable little thing I’ve about ever seen! Such beautiful fur and colors, and so delicate and surprisingly small! It’s amazing to me they managed to survive this long on the islands, and fantastic that there are now about 600 of them on the island as a result of the IWS recovery efforts. We actually saw a larger one living in the wild, probably a male, that crossed the road and went up an embankment while we were traveling on the remote road, and before we could get a camera on him.  After stopping at an overlook of Shark Harbor and Small Harbor (I think) on the way, we carried on to the very quaint, small, and picturesquely Spanish American motif airport where we had lunch, and enjoyed some engaging conversation. We saw several beautiful Northern Flickers and other birds on the drive. Dave got hopefully some good shots of them out his window that I’ll post one of when available. I was on the other side of the truck and didn’t have a clear shot out the window. Here we are at the airport: friend and photographer, David Mitchell, Dr. Sharpe, DH, Ed, and me.  After lunch we walked to the nearby Soapstone Quarry, where the once indigenous Tongva Tribe quarried their unique trading commodity: soapstone, or steatite for hundreds of years. Soapstone was their special currency, and only found locally on Catalina Island. The Tongva people made it into cooking bowls, and many other artifacts used for trade with other tribes, including sacred artifacts used by their Shamen in rituals and ceremonies. Most notably it was made into cooking bowls and utensils that didn’t crack when heated, and were highly prized and traded with many Southwest tribes. Ed and I have done some considerable research into this particular tribe ourselves, in a different context, and are fascinated with their culture and our feelings of past life connections. This link is to an article we wrote over ten years ago that talks about some of the local Tongva history, and a more current but enigmaticly related subject. It was the first published mutual work DH and I did after being drawn together by the subject that is the focus of the research projects we’ve worked together on since we met and were married on Catalina Island in 1995. Our First Published Article Here are ‘The Guys’ at the quarry, where you can see the rounded out stone shapes that are unfinished bowls made by the last Tongva who worked the quarry.  As Dr. Sharpe explained, they’d carve a round shape out of the soft stone and then knock it off and hollow it out, forming a heat resistant cooking bowl. In a huge synchronicity to me personally, I still have a large oil painting done by my Great Grandmother about 70 to 80 years ago, that shows the exact same type of Soapstone bowls, that were no doubt quarried by the Tongva from the same and only quarry they could have come from, and that ended up at the local mission where my Great Grandmother (Mother’s Father’s Mother) then painted them when she was a young artist, after her children were grown. I would like to see if it’s possible to find out which mission it was. They lived in Long Beach from the early part of the century, and she dabbled in various craftsy arts that I remember her doing throught my childhood. Hopefully no one minds a little historic background on Catalina, and related personal musings, in place of the missing the photos of the first part of the Tour, and until I can add a few of Dave’s of Pimu and Hyde, and some others he took before my photos begin with the reservoir stop (where the afore mentioned deletion of the earlier ones happened  ). Many of my pics that aren’t too repetitive of other tours are related to the quarry and Avalon, and had it not been so foggy I may have had a better chance of getting more scenic landscape shots.This is a closer shot of the unfinished bowl rounds in the quarry stone.  And Great-Grandma Hodges’ Mission Painting, with a close up shot of the Soapstone bowls. (The flash wouldn’t let me get a good wide shot)  Update! I found this painting of San Juan Capistrano Mission by local artist June Carey, that proves to me it is the same mission. Her painting is a reverse view of the same collonade, and even shows an old Pepper Tree in the same relative location as Grandma's painting does. (I had to remove the close up of the bowls in the painting to add it; it made Part 1 more than 10 pics)  click on the photos to enlarge |
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| EDblue | Aug 23 2008, 04:44 PM Post #9 |
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circlescribe/Kris -- Nov 11 2007 Part Two, IWS Tour November 1, 2007 After we left the airport we drove on back to Avalon, taking the high, narrow road with a spectacular view of the mainland side of the island, lined with Eucalyptus trees planted years ago to make it safer for the carriages that traveled it, and the later airport traffic. I didn’t get any shots of the view, too foggy and a bit nail-biting to remember to take any. Maybe Dave got some shots I can add later. I did take several shots of our walk around Avalon, and we saw some of the local history. The Soapstone bowls in my Great Grandmother’s painting are identical to the bowls seen below in the sculptures to the sides of this legendary icon filled depiction of Avalon Harbor, in this Catalina Tile wall mural on the seafront in Avalon. The coincidence of the Soapstone bowls really struck me for the first time seeing the quarry and then this tile painting. It depicts The Bay of Seven Moons, as the Tongva called it, in their idylic existence of balmy climate, soaring Eagles, playful Seals, and shows a Tongva couple with their trademark Soapstone bowls, watching a Spanish Galleon arrive in their harbor for the first time.  The Catalina Tile artisans are world renowned, and many examples if their pictorial tile work can be seen around the town, like those in the large tile murals at the historic Casino on the North end of the harbor, which houses a movie theatre, a gym, and a museum, and where we got to just after closing time. They have a great collection of Tongva artifacts in the small museum. The building was originally constructed in 1929, and was a very trendy hotspot getaway for Hollywood celebrities, gangsters, artists, writers, etc. The classic Art Deco design of the Casino features wonderful classic Catalina Tile mosaics of sea life, Mermaids, and local lore. This is the main Casino entrance, and a closer shot of its Mermaid mural.   After finding the Casino’s Catalina History Museum closed, we headed back to town. Beanie hung around with an Eagle friend for a little while, and tried out the life-sized replica of a Bald Eagle nest, before we had a bite to eat in Avalon and then caught the boat back to the real world. :rolleyes:   The seafront walk back from the Casino at the far end of the crescent shaped harbor, to Avalon’s shops and restaraunts.  That’s it for now, but coming soon: I’ll be able to add some of friend and photographer, David Mitchell’s, fantastic photos of the magnificent Pimu and Hyde, and a few other stops where I lost the ones I took. Dave’s camera and photographic skill is far superior to mine, so they’ll be an extra treat. click on the photos to enlarge |
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| EDblue | Aug 23 2008, 04:45 PM Post #10 |
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circlescribe/Kris for Dave -- Nov 19 2007 Finally, after converting, cropping and uploading, these are a few of our friend and freelance photographer, David Mitchell's, photos taken on our IWS Tour of November 1st. (Dave works in the SoCal area photographing Events, Weddings, Film Shoots, etc.) Some will remember him and his photos from the October 6 Santa Cruz trip. The photos I took of Pimu and Hyde and of the first part of our tour were erased accidentally by Dr. Sharpe (thanks MIB for the added camera tips for future reference. It's new and I haven't figured out most of its functions yet. Also to Sheila for the info that they still might be retrieved by a camera shop, and I will try that). Sorry it's taken a while to get these prepped and posted. Dave's PC based CD proved difficult to convert and open with Mac. It's in two parts for the 18 pictures. Part 1: Most need no further explanation, so comments are minimal. Enjoy! Dr. Sharpe's innovative Egg Incubator, which has increased the successful hatch rate by many times, and is a great contributor to the project's success.  The Artificial Eggs, some that had actualy been nested on by the Eagles.        As we were leaving Pimu voiced her objections.  click on the photos to enlarge |
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| EDblue | Aug 23 2008, 04:47 PM Post #11 |
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circlescribe/Kris for Dave -- Nov 19 2007 Here's Part 2 of friend, Dave's Tour pics.     This is the foggy view toward the WE nest.  A gorgeous male Buffalo in a classic pose.  A flock of Acorn Woodpeckers, as Pat/Cumbrian identified, nesting in holes in these posts on a ranch in the island's interior. I had originally said they were Northern Flickers, but a look at the link Pat posted proved they were Acorn Woodpeckers.    The end of a fantastic and memorable day! click on the photos to enlarge |
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| EDblue | Aug 23 2008, 04:48 PM Post #12 |
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Birdegg -- Mar 11 2008 RE: circlescribe Posted: Nov 19 2007, 04:21 PM Here's Part 2 of friend, Dave's Tour pics. Is that a captive "pet" island fox? S/he looks a little chubbier than the ones I have seen in the wild. Just curious. I know on the other islands there would often be one or two that would hang out near the ranger and research stations. |
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| EDblue | Aug 23 2008, 04:48 PM Post #13 |
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Harpo516/Deb -- Mar 11 2008 The little Island Fox is Tachi - an ambassador for the Channel Islands Island Fox - used for educational purposes, living in an enclosure on Catalina! She's wonderful! I believe the Nature Conservancy now oversees her care. http://islandfox.org/2006/04/catalina-island-fox-tachi.html Here's a link with some information about Tachi |
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| EDblue | Aug 23 2008, 04:51 PM Post #14 |
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Jeanette -- Mar 15 2008 Hi, These are the photos of our Catalina West End Tour last Thursday. It was just pure luck that Shun and I arrived at the right time when Peter decided to collect the eggs from the West End nest. I will also post a detailed description of our tour in this morning's Daily Chat The photos are in two parts PART ! http://picasaweb.google.com/jeanette19363/Catalina PART !! http://picasaweb.google.com/jeanette19363/Catalina2 Shun and I had a wonderful tour to the west end nest (photos in the Cruzer Events-Catalina 2008) section. It was just pure luck as the timing coincided with Peter wanting to collect the eggs at the west end nest. On arrival at the IWS office, we went with Peter and Steffani into the incubation room where we had to take off our shoes and put on surgical slippers, then Steffani turned the light off while Peter looked at the two harbors eggs through a light. He showed me how you could see movement in the egg. The second egg had a harder shell so was a little denser. He then returned them to his incubator. Peter and Steffani seemed so welcoming and warm and Steffani seemed a very mature 25 year old. We then got into Peter's pick-up truck and headed for the two hour drive to the west end of the island. Our first stop was to see Pimu (pronounced Peemoo) and Hyde. Hyde's beak is fine now, then on to see little Tachi who is now the responsibility of the Catalina Conservancy, She has a very large enclosure. On our way westward, we also stopped at the nest that Peter started (I think it was called the Middle Ranch area) I saw the nest across the lake. One of the eagles was sitting on a branch close to the nest. They may not breed this year. Our next stop was two harbors where we stopped to pick up something to eat and drink at the local store as by then it was close to 1.00pm. Before approaching two harbors, I took a photo of the nest location which looks like a pregnant woman with the large rock far left being her head. The two harbors nest is around the chin area. The road then became very rutted and bumpy with a lot of ridges. A man was working further up smoothing the ruts a little. When we got to the west end, Shun decided to stay at the truck and I joined Peter and Steffani for the trek to the nest. Peter had already told me that it was a little similar to the death march but without the arroyos and no trail. I followed them down steep slopes and up steep hills and then lost them. When I eventually reached the third hill Peter had set up a scope for me pointing to the west end nest and was just leaving, so I was not too far behind them thank goodness. Steffani waited for me especially as she had to pick cactus out of my hand which happens to her often. I had slipped a little as the trail was narrow with a steep cliff on the left to the ocean and cactus on the right. They went on and I sat on a flat rock and looked through the scope and saw one eagle on the nest. Peter and Steffani with down and up a couple more hills or peaks and then waited before climbing the last peak where the nest was. They just stood there for at least 15-20 mins as the parnts were very upset flying around them and around the nest. Steffani did tell me earlier to keep my head low. Eventually Peter and Steffani disappeared. I didnt see Peter until he was at the nest bowl with his back to me When he finished I slowly started back to the truck. Shun said that as he was waiting he saw two eagles (I am sure 01 and Wray) pass overhead screaching their heads off. When Peter and Steffani arrived back at the truck, Peter carefully put on a thick blue glove and picked up an egg and put it in his portable incubator. They will be taking the kayaks out soon to look for Diana along the cliffs. Peter is hoping that she has found a mate. Steffani drove back and in some parts the road narrows with steep drops to the ocean either side. It was actually a little scary with the road being so rutted and rough so Peter had to carry the incubator above his lap so that the eggs were OK. He really hoped that the embryos were not scrambled by the time we got back. Steff was so tiny and previously had to use a cushion in order to drive the truck. They also drive to the west end at night would you believe. I think Steff should be paid danger money. When we got back to the office, we went into the incubator room again, turned off the light and looked at the eggs through the light. They looked pure white with a pink blob in the center. Peter said that they had not been incubated as much as he would have liked but that they were only six days old. We quickly said our goodbyes and of course thanked them profusely for this privilege. As fir me, it was a lifetime experience Foot Note: The Catalina Island only has enough food for 50 pairs of nesting eagles and thsat the eggs when left naturally, only have a 5% chance or in other words a one in twenty egg survival rate |
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| EDblue | Aug 23 2008, 04:52 PM Post #15 |
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Eagleholic
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Minacat/Mina -- Apr 6 2008 My daughter, Ginn, and I were so lucky to be able to take over for someone who couldn't go on Robin's fostering tour. Thanks again, Robin. As you all have said before, Peter and Steffani were so gracious and accomodating. Thanks, P and S!! Here are some of the photos from our tour. All were taken on Thursday, April 3rd. The surrogate daddy himself with the one-day old TH chickie  Chickie getting ready to be fed  Chickie eating ground quail  CHickie being cuddled and resting after being fed. My DD Ginn and Lala in background  click on the photos to enlarge |
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8:38 AM Nov 27