January 5, 2020

Snow!!  At last we got some snow.  However, as the wind was moderate and from the north it meant the photographers took up position on the western side of the field next to the house to avoid getting snow on their lenses.  This meant a new configuration for the feeding which I wasn't sure would work.

The first feeding at 8:30 went well.  There were about 30 birds and with visibility poor due to the snow we had very few incomers.  This happens when birds away from the site see eagles or crows circling and decide to join the party.  We had some good ground and aerial action with one eagle dragging a chicken to within about 50 feet of the photographers.  We had half a dozen viewers for this session.

The 10:30 feeding saw about the same number of eagles but double the viewers.  There was pretty good action both in the air and on the ground.  Both sessions also showed an increase in the number of crows and ravens - almost as many as there were eagles.

I am going for two feedings tomorrow at 8:30 and 10:30.  Beyond that I'm not sure.  Two barns should come back into production next week but we will lose at least four as the chicken goes to market.  This may give us a short term glut of large birds but then I will receive nothing from these barns for two weeks.

If the cold weather remains I can store the chicken for longer but if it gets warmer I either use them or lose them, so to speak.   The cycle in the barns augers well for the two Eagle Watch weekends but we may have feast and famine in the meantime.