Thursday, March 4, 2010

An Icy Lake Erie & An Eagle’s Nest In Mentor Ohio

All photos © chrisazimmer, chriszimmer.blogspot.com


It seems like forever since we had a full day of clear skies and sunshine here. The winter months usually bring long, endless streaks of skies that are battleship gray in color, thanks to Lake Erie. With the sky a brilliant blue today, and lots of snow still on the ground, it was a good day for a visit to nearby Mentor Headlands Beach to see a frozen Lake Erie.

A special bonus along the way was seeing an eagle’s nest in the Mentor Marsh, less than a mile from the entrance to Mentor Headlands State Park. The nest is very visible from Route 44, and while this time of year the traffic is very light there, it is still not a good place to stop and bird watch. I was lucky to spot the nest on the way to the beach, so I was able to find the spot easily on the way out of Headlands. There was no traffic at all, so I stopped and took two quick photos of the nest, but no eagles were in sight. (It has been confirmed that they are indeed nesting there.)

Here are some photos of a very frozen Lake Erie and a very cold-looking beach, along with the eagle’s nest. I am so thankful to have such wonderful sights just a few miles from home.

(Click on any photo for a larger view.)










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2 comments:

Sara said...

Beautiful photos Chris. When will the ice start melting and the tulips start peeking thru? Today's an air conditioner day in Houston. If I lived near a frozen lake I would fling open the windows and save a lot of money on energy bills.

Is the eagle's nest occupied?

Chris Zimmer said...

Yes, the eagles have been spotted at the nest but I have to admit I am not sure if anyone has confirmed that eggs are there as yet.

Tulips can sometimes be up before April if it gets warm enough. One year, we had crocuses (sp?) in February! The melting of lake ice varies a lot, one recent winter the lake never completely froze over. All we need are a few warmish days and sun!