More Good News

The average time from hatch to first flight for Bald Eagles is 90 days. In my last post, April 12, I gave you the details on the new Eagle chicks at the FOBBV nest near Big Bear Lake, California. The Eagle parents are known as Jackie (mom) and Shadow (dad). Friends of Big Bear Valley are streaming nest activities 24/7 on YouTube.

Jackie's first clutch of eggs, this year, was unsuccessful. The second clutch, 2 eggs, was successful, and chick 1 hatched on April 4. Chick 2 hatched on April 5. My primary use of the internet, since April 4, has been watching these little chicks grow up. It is SO MUCH more fun than watching all the dreadful political mess going on in the USA. 😊 

For all of you blog friends, I've been snapping screenshots from time to time to share interesting moments and those images are below. I'm organizing them by DAYS SINCE HATCH and using the hatch date of chick 1 as DAY 1 ... SO, April 4 is DAY 1. The images below begin with the same image I posted in my last post ... if you're curious about the day-of-the-month, it's always shown in the FOBBV ID bar at the bottom of the image, as well as the exact time of the screenshot.

DAY 9   

Jackie and her two chicks on April 12.
Suggestion: Click on the image to get the larger view.
The images are organized so that you are seeing
the oldest images first.  Screenshots taken today
are at the bottom.

DAY 14

The chicks spend most of their time under mom.
Both parents are usually not on the nest at the 
same time, but for short periods, as seen here.
[Note: Screenshots are with FOBBV permission.]

Afternoon snack.

DAY 16

Late breakfast.

Both parents feed the chicks.
Usually, fresh fish from Big Bear Lake is the entrée.

DAY 17

Both parents assessing the situation.

DAY 19

Another late breakfast.

DAY 23

What a surprise!
Snow started in the middle of the night,
April 26th.

I felt sorry for Jackie.
But breakfast is on the way ... next image!

Shadow arrives with a fresh fish.

A cold breakfast for all.

DAY 27

Excuse the camera's shadow.
This is a late-afternoon feeding.

DAY 28 (MAY 1)

Early morning, May 1, UV camera allows
us to watch the birds at night without disturbing
the birds. I'm noticing Jackie is not covering
the little ones as much as she did earlier.

Early morning breakfast, May 1, 2026.
Both chicks are doing well and growing fast.
FOBBV announces the names of the chicks: Sandy (chick 1)
 and Luna (chick 2)

The question now, is ... how to tell the difference between Sandy and Luna. 😊 According to updates from the FOBBV team, here are the key differences (so far) ...

Sandy (Chick 1)

Slightly larger overall (head and neck especially)

More submissive personality

Has a slight curve to the gape (corner of the beak) — sometimes described as a faint “smile”

Luna (Chick 2)

A bit smaller

More assertive / aggressive behavior

Straighter gape (no curve)

DAY 29 (May 2)

Early morning breakfast, May 2, Day 29
The zoomed in picture is a little fuzzy
but it makes a good record of Sandy and Luna
almost 1 month old. My guess is, that's
Sandy on the left.

Looking Forward

It fascinates me that DAY 90 ... possible first flight for chick 1 ... will be July 2nd. How perfect could it be that these chicks take flight on or around America's 250th birthday on July 4th!

Thanks for stopping by. More updates to come. AND, after the Eagles fly, I'll get back to ships, stamps, and skies.  😊

Some Good News

New Eagle Chicks at FOBBV nest
Screen shot April 12, 2026

Eagle Watch Streaming by FOBBV

Details on Jackie's second clutch, 2026 ... 

April 5 – Chick 2 Hatched - 38 days

April 4 – Chick 1 Hatched - 40 days

Feb 27 – Jackie laid egg #2

Feb 24 – Jackie laid egg #1 (Clutch #2 this year)

Favorite NASA photo from successful
Artemis II mission.

Artemis II Multimedia

I had to stop and reflect on the image above. I'm fascinted that all humans (except those few in space) are on that little circle called Earth. If only we could all understand how getting along could make everything better.

Out for a walk around the neighborhood on
Monday, April 6th.  Sometimes I've just got to
stop and snap some simple beauty along the street.
Good to see the color back!

Thank you for stopping by!

Moon Mountains and More

Moon slipping away ...

October 5, 2025

[Click on images for larger view]

Re the photos above:  On October 5, 2025, I spotted the Harvest Moon nearing the western horizon. The sky was perfectly clear and the moon was large and bright. I grabbed the camera to capture a few shots as the moon slipped behind Two Brothers, a part of the Olympic Mountain Range.

A couple of days later ...

On October 7th, the sunset provided a colorful
 sky and a chance to see the spot on Two Brothers
 where the moon set in the photos above.

Speaking of the Moon … the NASA Artemis II mission, with 4 astronauts, will soon embark on a 10-day journey traveling in NASA’s new spacecraft Orion out and around the moon. PBS Horizons featured this on tonight’s (March 21) broadcast. More info here.    

To My Blogging Friends - -

I want to say a big thank you to all of you who have left me kind comments on my recent posts after returning from an extended blog break from mid-September, last year, to February, 2026.

Dogs

In my last post I encouraged you to check out the 2026 Iditarod in Alaska. Jessie Holmes, Bib #7, crossed the finish line, in Nome, on March 17 at 9:32PM, to win the race.  Travis Beals, Bib #4, was second place winner, March 18 at 1:58AM.  Jeff Deeter, Bib #8, was third place winner, March 18 at 5:10AM.  Paige Drobny, Bib #10, first woman musher to cross the finish line, was fourth place winner, March 18 at 5:38AM ... 8 hours and 6 minutes after Jessie Holmes. If you would like to see lots of great photos of this year's race, check out the Official Race Photographer's websites ...

Siri Raitto Photography

AND

Dave Poyzer Photography

Birds

In all of my posts, since returning from blog break, I've been keeping an eye on Jackie and Shadow, the Bald Eagles, and their nest in the Big Bear Valley of California. The Friends of Big Bear Valley (FOBBV) are providing a live stream on YouTube so we can watch as the parents incubate 2 eggs in the nest. Checking on the nest yesterday afternoon, March 20, 2026, here was the scene ...

Checking on the nest about 3:00PM PDT
The 2 eggs look to be in good condition but
no parents are on the nest. Scrolling back on
the stream shows Jackie flying away a few
minutes earlier ... taking a break.

A little after 3:01PM Jackie returned 

By about 3:02 she is back on DUTY!

Critter lovers be sure to check out Saturday's Critters

Closing thought ...

Thanks for stopping by and take care!

Dogs Birds and Ships

The Last Great Race Is Underway
Check out the 2026 Iditarod
The race got underway in Willow, Alaska, last Sunday.
As of today, Saturday, March 14th, the lead musher has
made it more than half way to Nome, Alaska, in the
975 mile (1569 km)  race.

Birds

I took an extended blog break between late last September and February 26. 

Not blogging but still snapping photos and here are a few bird pics to share ...

I love the way the flash of color on one of my
Anna's Hummingbirds matched the color of the
leaves in a tree out front last fall.

Linking up with my favorite critter-photo sharing site,

Saturday's Critters

Canada Goose Conference
Spotted on a waterfront walk.

Watching the Eagles in the Big Bear Valley of California
encouraged me to end my blog break in order to share
this fascination. My previous 2 blog posts
February 25
and
March 5
have been documenting the Eagles as they are
incubating 2 eggs in their nest. Nest activity is being streamed
live 24/7 on YouTube. The screen capture above was
taken on March 11 at 6:16AM PDT. Momma is sound
asleep but ON DUTY!

Ships

Just to set the scene, here is my ship watching view
looking west over Elliott Bay and Puget Sound
to Bainbridge Island and the Olympic Mountains
in the distance.

Here are a bunch of ship pics taken during my blog break ...

National Geographic Sea Lion
departing Seattle on an 8-Day Expedition,
October, 2025

Evergreen Container Ship
on a sunny, fall afternoon.
This ship is southbound enroute to
Tacoma, Washington

The Lady L yacht in Elliott Bay in October, 2025
If you had the $, would you buy a yacht? 😊

Argosy tourist vessel.
These boats cruise around Elliott Bay,
entertaining tourists and locals alike.

OOCL Container Ship arrives in Seattle.
The Orient Overseas Container Line is one
of the world's largest shipping companies.
I am surprised to see the rust!
OOCL Company Profile

Washington State Ferry enroute Seattle to Bremerton
Alki Point (West Seattle) beyond.

An MSC Container Ship with very small load
departing Seattle ... Bainbridge Island in background.
For scale, note the sailboat at the yellow arrow.
(I know ... barely visible!)

An Evergreen Container Ship with a full load of containers.
Northbound to the Pacific Ocean.

Coast Guard Cutter Storis Icebreaker #21
in Elliott Bay early November, 2025

Matson Container ship southbound to Tacoma with a very
small load of containers.  Small load due to tariffs???

SAFESEA Container ship with exceptionally small load
departing Seattle mid-December, 2025

Unusual barge and tow vessel with a small number
of containers probably bound for Alaska or a
small port in Canada.

Looking over the Marina to see an MSC Container ship
with a good load of containers arriving in Seattle,
February 10, 2026

US Coast Guard Cutter 87360 
The "Blue Shark" - a Coastal Patrol Boat
February, 2026

AIRSHIP Good Year N3A
The Wingfoot Three
Floating by in September, 2025 

The Wingfoot Three heading north
above northwest Seattle

Another AIRSHIP
Boeing 777X
passing by -- probably headed to Boing Field, Seattle

Thanks for stopping by! Be well and take care!

John