7-28-2023 Some Very Welcome Visits
Jackie and Shadow each decided that they would take a little break from vacation time and let everyone know they are still around. It was apparently time to remind all the neighbors that this is their nest and they are the owners of this whole territory.
Shadow dropped in a couple days ago, with his requisite stick in tow. And in finding the proper home for that new stick, he couldn’t help but notice that other sticks had gotten sassy and moved to incorrect and obviously out of balance places in the nest. So, he immediately took the extra time and effort to rearrange them back to their appropriate locations. (We’d best not remind him that those silly raven youngsters had been in the nest messing with his sticks!) And then that was enough for one evening and it was back to vacation time.
Earlier that afternoon, a beautiful mule deer buck was spotted having some quiet time below the nest. We got his permission to include his video here…of course we warned him that lots of other animals may want his autograph after this.
By nightfall, Jackie and Shadow had both settled into their favorite roost tree. They spent the warm, cozy night snuggled side by side, reaffirming their bonded connection, even while on summer vacation.
Yesterday afternoon, Jackie dropped into the nest amidst lots of warning raven calls. They may have been trying to scare her away from their area…but it had no impact. Instead, she decided to stay for a while…a little over 3 hours while!
She apparently realized how much she missed just watching the neighborhood happenings, so she moved out to her best viewing spot on the front porch. As her neck-bending curiosity kicked in, she seemed to thoroughly enjoy everything she was watching. She even consented to some nice close-up views as she spent a bit of leisurely time preening out some old feathers—she of course has to make sure she’ll be beautiful by fall when her annual molting is complete.
Thank you for keeping up with Jackie and Shadow even as they are enjoying their summer break. They would like to announce that all of us can now relax—they heard that the Labor Day fireworks show planned for September in Big Bear Lake has been cancelled. Hooray!!
Sandy
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