Day 79 - Wildlife and Friends — Captain Father John

Miles cruised 0, fuel purchased $0, slip fee $0, daily high temperature 74*F

Chris Weber arrived at 8 am to take John and Priscilla to the Fort Meyers airport. They are traveling to Boston to be with Alison and Oscar for the birth of Jack, their second grandchild born in the last month. Andy and I worked on the boat checking the engine and cleaning. We took our daily walk to check out the area. Along our walk we found an Eagle Sanctuary populated by at least one pair of Eagles. One of them was standing majestically on a huge nest.

The Bald Eagle, our national bird, is the only eagle unique to North America. Bald eagles are found throughout most of North America, from Alaska and Canada to northern Mexico. About half of the world’s 70,000 bald eagles live in Alaska. Combined with British Columbia’s population of about 20,000, the northwest coast of North America is by far their greatest stronghold for bald eagles. They flourish here in part because of the salmon. Dead or dying fish are an important food source for all bald eagles. It takes five years for a bald eagle to attain solid white head and tail feathers. For the first five years they gradually change; the beak turns from black to yellow, the eyes from brown to pale yellow, body feathers from mottled to dark brown, and head and tail feathers from mottled to solid white. It’s possible for bald eagles in the wild to live longer than thirty years, but the average lifespan is fifteen to twenty years. A female bald eagle’s body length varies from 35 to 37 inches; with a wingspan of 79 to 90 inches. The smaller male bald eagle has a body length of 30 to 34 inches; with a wingspan ranging from 72 to 85 inches. An eagle’s average weight is ten to fourteen pounds. Northern birds are significantly larger than their southern relatives. An eagle’s eye is almost as large as a human’s, but its sharpness is at least four times that of a person with perfect vision. Talons are important tools for hunting and defense. Eagles kill their prey by penetrating its flesh with their talons. Eagles can open and close their talons at will. An eaglet is a young eagle that is not able to fly. A fledgling is capable of flight form the nest at about 10 to 12s weeks and returns to the nest to be fed and roost. Adult eagles train fledglings to fly and hunt reptiles and amphibians in the sanctuary. Their diet consists mainly of fish. Fledglings leave the nest in mid-May and are now juveniles. It takes until the fifth year before they have full adult plumage with a white head and yellow bill and eyes.

Further along our route we came upon burrowing owls. The burrowing owl is a pint-sized bird that lives in open, treeless areas. The burrowing owl spends most of its time on the ground, where its sandy brown plumage provides camouflage from potential predators. One of Florida’s smallest owls, it averages nine inches in height with a wingspan of 21 inches. The burrowing owl lacks the ear tufts of the more familiar woodland owls. Bright yellow eyes and a white chin accent the face. Unusually long legs provide additional height for a better view from its typical ground-level perch. Burrowing owls live as single breeding pairs or in loose colonies consisting of two or more families. Unlike most owls, burrowing owls are active during both day and night. During the day, they are usually seen standing erect at the mouth of the burrow or on a nearby post. When disturbed, the owl bobs in agitation and utters a chattering or clucking call. In flight, burrowing owls typically undulate as if they are flying an invisible obstacle course. They also can hover in midair, a technique effective for capturing food.

Burrowing owls use burrows year-round; for roosting during the winter and for raising young during the breeding season (Feb – July). Florida’s owls typically dig their own burrows but will use gopher tortoise or armadillo burrows. Burrows extend 4 to 8 feet underground and are lined with materials such as grass clippings, feathers, paper, and manure. At hatching, the young owls are covered with white downy feathers and have their eyes closed. They emerge from the burrow when they are 2 weeks old. At 4 weeks, they are learning to fly but cannot fly well until 6 weeks old. They remain with their parents until they are 12 weeks old.

Later in the afternoon we were joined by Elsie and Jim Rivard, friends who live in Fort Meyers. Elsie is a college friend from St. Cloud State University. We have visited the Rivards several times in the past on our winter trips to Florida. After docktails we traveled by dingy to Mangos Dockside Bistro on the Marco Esplanade for dinner overlooking the water. We walked right in. The staff told us that in February and March we would have had an hour or longer wait for a table. Timing is everything.