Monthly Archives: February 2023

There is perhaps no other bird that elicits such strong emotions in us as a Bald Eagle.  Truly majestic in appearance, we are so fortunate that their numbers have increased from 30 nesting pairs in Michigan in the 1950’s to 900 pairs currently.

Thanks to Eric H. Wolff for this photo of Bald Eagle with fish

The use of DDT, a man-made chemical that seeped into streams and rivers, affected the fish that Eagles ate, causing their eggshells to become so fragile they would break before hatching. After DDT was banned, we have seen the dramatic recovery of this species. Bald Eagle pairs are currently nesting at Belle Isle, the Country Club of Detroit, Stoney Creek Metro Park and on Sugarbush Road in New Baltimore.

Bald Eagles have spectacular courtship displays with the pair flying high into the sky, locking talons, and cartwheeling downward together, breaking off at the last instant to avoid crashing to earth.  They will also perch closely together and call as part of pair bonding behavior.

Thanks to Christine A. Orchard for this photo of Bald Eagles “Mate Calling” on Belle Isle

A Bald Eagle nest is an amazing creation with large sticks being used to create the sturdy platform and edges, an average nest being four to five feet in diameter and three to four feet tall, weighing a ton.  The inside is lined with grasses, moss or seaweed so that the eggs are insulated and have a soft surface to rest upon.  Bald Eagles re-use their nests year after year, both the male and female adding materials.

Thanks to Karen Panagos for this photo of Bald Eagle with nesting material on Belle Isle

Eggs are laid early in the year with most of our resident Eagles on eggs in February and March.  Eggs are incubated for 35 days by both the male and female, who form a brood patch on their belly. This bare spot allows them to press their hot skin directly against the eggs to keep them at 105 degrees. The young may remain in the nest from 56 to 98 days.

Eagles feed primarily on fish and besides catching their own, will scavenge on dead fish as well as steal fish from other raptors.  Eagles also eat roadkill and are proficient duck hunters. Although their beak appears to be a formidable weapon, it is used only for ripping apart prey.  All of the killing of prey is done with the talons of the Eagle when they pierce their prey.  The talons are almost 2 inches long on female eagles, and about an inch and a quarter on males.  Eagles will travel for miles away from their nest in pursuit of food.

Thanks to James Ventimiglia for this photo of Bald Eagle with fish in talons

Adult Bald Eagles have a completely white head and tail, with juveniles going through a five-year phase of different dark plumages until they reach mature plumage.  One of the other field marks of the Bald Eagle is that they hold their wings like a plank in flight as opposed to having a downward curve or a dihedral, their head and tail projecting in equal lengths from their body.

Thanks to Joan Kowalski for this photo of Bald Eagles mating on Belle Isle

Eagles have five times as many light sensing cells in their eyes than we humans which allows them to see in more detail.  They also have four fovea which is a small area in the retina packed with light-sensing cells.  With two fovea in each eye, all pointing in different directions, Eagles have almost 360 degrees of peripheral vision.

May you have the fortune of an “eagle eye” view of our National Symbol.

Thanks to Ernie Sereniak for this unique photo of a Bald Eagle on ice

While Screech Owls would be the most common owl in south east Michigan, there are other owls that have been sighted and may surprise you with an appearance.

The most likely would be the Great Horned Owl.  This very large owl is 22 inches tall with a wing span of 44 inches.  They need a large tree that has a flat area for purposes of nesting, such as a broken off main trunk.  In the past, there have been a pair that have nested in the field across from The Ford House, the only place that fulfills that nesting need.  Food supply in our area is not an issue as Great Horned Owls will eat squirrels, racoons, possum, rats and cats.  They are a very successful generalist in their feeding habits. My personal experiences have been responding to the cawing of a group of crows, greeted by them mobbing a Great Horned at the top of my oak tree.  In December of 2021, I was serenaded for 25 minutes by a Great Horned that was four houses down, calling for a mate from the top of the neighbors tall pine tree.  Great Horned Owls lay their eggs in February so it wasn’t unusual to hear him calling at that time of year.

Great Horned Owl photo courtesy of Eric H. Wolff

Long-eared Owls are far less common as they have been sighted migrating in Spring through this area, but we have not found any reliable winter roosting sites.  My experiences with this owl were as a result of another group of corvids, Blue Jays calling and hopping about the cedars in my yard.  An inspection of the site resulted in seeing this 15 inch tall owl with long feather tufts, roosting for the day.  Long-eared Owls travel beginning at dusk on their way to the northern Lower Peninsula and further north where they nest.   Another Long-eared Owl was seen by me at a friends’ home, due north of my house a few years later, sitting on a relatively open branch in the sun. Food supply here in Grosse Pointe would be sufficient as they eat small mammals, a good lesson that poisons should be avoided.  These owls like dense cover in the form of cedar trees, which have branches that allow them the spaces they need to roost, yet provide cover from the elements.  If you are looking to improve owl habitat in your yard, I would highly recommend a row of native cedar trees.

Long-eared Owl photo courtesy of John Graffius

Saw-whet Owls are very rare although I believe that with regular searching they would be found.  They prefer the same habitat as the Long-eared Owls.  These eight inch tall owls may look cute because of their size, but they are fierce predators.  Food for Saw-whet Owls consists mainly of mice.  My only report of this owl was from a customer in 2010.  In the middle of a busy Black Friday, a customer and her grandson came in to report a small owl in their garage. After looking at the field guide, he identified it as an Eastern Screech Owl. Later when they returned with a picture, I was shocked to discover the bird was a Northern Saw-Whet Owl. I immediately went to their house to see this rare find in Grosse Pointe! To my surprise, instead of hiding in its natural habitat of dense brush, it was perched on a coiled garden hose in the rafters of the garage.

Saw-whet Owl photo courtesy of Rosann Kovalcik

Snowy Owl is another rare sighting in Grosse Pointe, having been seen along the lake shore at the Ford House and the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club.  These birds appear in winter and feast on the plentiful ducks that we have on the lake.  The most reliable place to see one is at the Harley Ensign DNR launch site in Harrison Township where one is seen on the break wall on a fairly regular basis in the winter.

Snowy Owl photo courtesy of John Graffius

Have fun searching and listening for these owl species in the neighborhood.