Eagle Flock Descends on Little Sprouts Farm

NOTE: When this post was written, I mistakenly thought the birds were eagles. It turns out (thanks to a helpful reader) that these are in fact turkey vultures!

Today was an exciting day indeed!  Another day that demonstrates the awesomeness of nature.

We were visited by a fairly large flock of young eagles right in our pasture. At one time there were about 40 birds either soaring or sitting around the back of the pasture.

Some of the birds were circling overhead while quite a few had landed on an old tree stump in the back of the pasture and were pleasantly sunning their wins.  The wingspan of these guys is AWESOME to say the least. The animals (turkeys, sheep, and even the llama) were watching nervously, all huddled up and hiding near or in the sheep shelter. They knew these birds were nothing to mess with! I have to admit I was a bit afraid for the baby lambs myself. At less than a week old those little lambs would have been quite a treat for a hungry eagle.  The llama, Rainey, was doing his job, standing between the eagles and the flock with his ever watchful eyes trained on the bird's every movement. I am sure that had a bird come over to attack a lamb, he would have been right there to contend with it.

I attempted to get some pictures but the birds spooked as soon as I got close enough. What you see below is a few of  the shots I did get. I really wish we had a longer lens to get better closeups! As they majestically soared away towards the hills...

View walking up. Rainey watching carefully in the foreground. You can see the eagles sunning on the fallen tree stump.



As close as I could get before they took flight.



Spooked, the eagles take flight



Gaining some ground now, and soaring more than anything.




A few birds flew quite close to me.



finally taking to the clouds

Here you can see about 20, maybe half of the total birds, soaring above the neighbor's pasture.

Watching the birds soar, sit, sun, etc from the distance we were at, my best guess is that these are either young bald eagles or older brown eagles. I am by far no expert so if anyone can make a better identification from the pics please do so!

Another baby rattlesnake found

It seems that those who guessed the baby snake we found the other day was a rattler were correct. We found another one today, exact same size and coloring. This one was not more than 20 feet from where the other one was. Both were very near the turkey coop. After killing this one, I inspected the tail very closely and sure enough, there was a single tiny rattle segment at the very tip. The head was triangular also.

As happy as I am to have identified it, now I am worried. That makes two baby rattlers killed within 20 feet or the turkey pen within a week., This must mean that there is a mommy rattler hiding with her nest of eggs somewhere very close to the turkey coop. I don't know how many eggs are normally laid but surely its more than two, so there is a mommy and several more little babies slithering around our pasture. Having all these animals and three little kids running around makes this an unacceptable situation.

Sounds like it's time for a snake hunt... unless someone has a better (and safer) idea?

Snake identification

Does anyone know what type of snake this little guy is? I found him in the pasture this morning. He sure acts like a rattlesnake. When approached he crouches into strike position and the end of his tail wiggles as if to rattle. He would rather stand his ground and fight than run off.

If you can help identify him please comment on this blog post.

Midnight visitor

So.... Ducks and chickens are unsettled at midnight... Inspection shows a skunk in the chicken coop... And I'm here with a dog overcome with instinct....

So... He's sleeping outside for a few weeks.. I have to shower before returning to bed... And all windows stay closed.

Tomorrow night... I take the shotgun.