 |
| An eagle peers out of her nest near Seven Mile Creek Park. |
interesting mysteries in our valley.
A short outing just a few hundred yards from busy Highway 169 between
Mankato and St. Peter this week produced a majestic eagle perched atop her
eggs, the skeletal remains of a white-tailed deer and a piece of a grave
marker mysteriously leaning against a tree.
They can be found in Seven Mile Creek Park, but not in the main park most
people grill, hike and play in. Instead, take the road toward the river
(east) and drive all the way back to the boat launch. There, a flat, easy to
walk trail winds back and around the perimeter of the park along the
Minnesota River.
While I've come to expect surprises along the river and in the woods, the
marble cross with the initials J.H.S. propped on a tree at the start of the
trail was not the usual find. It was apparently either found in the river
and propped up by someone or found (taken) from somewhere else and brought
in.
The nearby white-tail carcass -- bleaching white after being picked clean by
coyotes, vultures, bugs and other critters -- offered a rather artistic, if
stark profile in the wheat-colored grass.
The deer could have died there after being wounded nearby during hunting
season. But more likely it was a carcass discarded by someone who had
butchered a deer they killed.
A couple of hundred yards down the path, toward the southeast edge of the
park, a tall tree across the river is topped with an eagle's nest. Good
binoculars will show you the large white head and distinctive golden beak of
the eagle as it eyes you from afar.
The eagles -- but mostly the female -- will sit tight on the eggs for about 35
days before they hatch. They have been on the nest at least two weeks
already. When the eggs hatch, one or two usually emerge alive. If it's two,
it often ends badly for one. It's not unusual for one chick to kill the
other so as not to have to compete for food.
If you check in about the middle of June the young eagle, if it survives,
should be taking its first short flights along the river. It's a dangerous
time -- as many as 40 percent don't survive the first days of learning to
fly.
It can be a tough life along the river just outside the bustle of urban
life.
