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![\"bald](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/bald-eagle-1172-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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I visited Farmington for about an hour yesterday morning.\u00a0 Here are some of my observations:<\/p>\n
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- The truckload of carp had not yet been dumped but it was anticipated later in the day.<\/li>\n
- Recently there\u00a0have been many eagles (100+)\u00a0far out on the ice but due\u00a0to our warm weather the ice has mostly melted and the eagles have\u00a0largely dispersed.\u00a0They may be at inaccessible parts of the refuge or they may have left the area.<\/li>\n
- This adult bird was one of the few eagles I saw in the hour I was there and it was far away.<\/li>\n
- Rotenone has apparently not yet been applied but others have reported dead fish at the first bridge\u00a0from draining unit 1 (large pond on the east of the road).<\/li>\n
- This time of year there’s sometimes opportunities for photographing Barn Owls in daylight but it’s very unlikely this year because our (scary) warm weather doesn’t force them to hunt during the day – good news for owls, not so good for photographers and wildlife watchers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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![\"bald](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/bald-eagle-1163-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\nI did get a lucky fly-by from a juvenile eagle as I was leaving the refuge but the light was crappy and the background doesn’t appeal to me.<\/p>\n
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![\"phrag](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/phrag-mower-1131-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\nRefuge personnel have been working hard in preparation for Bald Eagle Day and other spring activities and that includes “mowing their lawn” (mostly invasive phragmites).\u00a0 This Truxor DM5000 is one incredible machine (photographed yesterday at the second bridge).\u00a0 It’s amphibious, can go virtually anywhere and performs a bewilderingly wide variety of jobs on the refuge.\u00a0 If you’re a “tool person” you may be interested in watching this clip<\/a>\u00a0– it’s truly an amazing piece of equipment and perfectly designed for many of the tasks required for refuge management.\u00a0 Yesterday while watching this machine at work, friend and fellow photographer Joe Ford (with a big grin on his face)\u00a0repeatedly said “I WANT one of those!”.<\/p>\n
In summary, Bald Eagles at Farmington are still “up in the air”.\u00a0 Usually their activity is in full swing by now but this year it’s hard to predict how it will turn out.<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n
An update to the update: It has been reported that one load of carp has been dumped near the 4-way and there\u00a0may be another load brought in sometime in the next 24 hours.\u00a0 In these crazy-warm temps (it’s 65 degrees F as I type this\u00a0at 1:30 pm) Farmington should soon be\u00a0quite aromatic…\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
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For the past several weeks I’ve been receiving almost daily requests for the current and anticipated Bald Eagle situation at Farmington Bay WMA so this morning I’ve decided to be a little proactive with a blog post that covers most everything I know on the subject.<\/p>\n