Sunday, May 31, 2015

Dyfi Osprey Day 1&2 Second Hatch!, Africam Black Eagles Day 2&3, Harrison Bay Eagles Day 61&63 Branching! and Injury Update

The second egg has hatched at the Dyfi Osprey nest. One more to go!

Something flew over the nest. Dad puffed up to make himself look bigger. Mom jumped up and took off to defend the nest.

Both of the babies are getting plenty to eat.


I had a bad time with cam freezes at the Africam Black Eagle nest today. These are the s'caps that I could get. So far, it's harmony:

I got a look at Mom brooding her babies...

The only time I saw the babies, they were sleeping... I will try again tomorrow!

I checked on the Harrison Bay eaglet today that had the injured nare yesterday (HB8) -- an Eagle's nostril is called a nare. While looking for that, I found a couple of other interesting interactions from today. So, here's the Not Sharing/Feeling Feisty/Injured Nare video (5:11):

The younger eaglet, HB8, also branched. It turns out, it branched Friday and I missed it. It (finally) stepped out onto the branch. (Hopping/flapping onto the branch will come later.) Here's a s'cap from today, the second time that it branched.

Saturday, May 30, 2015

Bald Eagle HE & Dad Norfolk's Eaglet Fledged Today!, Dyfi Osprey Day 1 Hatch!, Africam Black Eagles Day 1&2 Second Hatch!, Harrison Bay Eagles Day 60&62 Eaglet Injured

Reese Lukei was on hand today to see Dad Norfolk & HE's eaglet fledge. Check out Reese's post, with pictures, at this link!

Yesterday, I wasn't sure if it was a crack or a pip in one of the Dyfi Osprey eggs. Well, it was a pip! Today they have a hatchling! Here's a 1st Chick Hatches video (2:07) that they posted.

Here's some s'caps from today of the hatchling:



It looks like there's a pip starting in this egg.

It looks like there might be a hole in the bottom right area of this egg. I don't know if it's the same egg as the one above.

The second egg hatched at the Africam Black Eagle nest! These chicks hatched only one day apart. Maybe the first hatch won't have such a big size advantage...

One of the Harrison Bay Eaglets was injured today either during the food delivery or during a later scuffle with the sibling for the fish. The nare on the right side is bloody.

Here's a video of the Eaglet's Injury, including the two scuffles when it happened.

The Harrison Bay Eaglets still haven't branched...
 

Friday, May 29, 2015

Africam Black Eagles Day 1 Hatch!, Dyfi Osprey Crack or Pip?, Loch of the Lowes Osprey Day 5,7&8

I woke up this morning to find a hatchling in the Africam Black Eagle nest. And I was just in time to catch a feeding. This little one is so strong and steady already! Don't worry, it's still got some bobble-head action. Look at this little cutie!

When Mom first stood up, you could see the pip in the other egg.

Here's the Feeding Hatchling video (4:57):

There's either a crack or a pip in one of the Dyfi Osprey eggs. It's located at the end of the egg instead of along the side. And it looks indented. So, I'm not sure if it's a crack or a pip. Here's my s'caps for today. Zoomer was on the job today, trying to get close-ups whenever the parents did an egg roll. I don't see anything in this shot, except pretty eggs:

Here's a different egg roll. The parents are extremely restless today. They can hear the chicks peeping inside the shells. They were up and down all day. Sometimes they were just getting down and then they'd get right back up...

With Osprey, it's easy to tell the male and female apart. Mom's bib has a lot more brown than Dad's bib. It was raining when Dad came to the nest and Mom did not move. Smart lady, protecting the eggs from the weather!
 
At one point, it was raining pretty enough to bead on Mom's wings. Mom didn't move for a long time... I thought I was never going to get to see what was happening with the eggs.
 
Dad is enjoying a nice fish on the back perch.
 
He brought the rest of the fish to Mom and took a turn on the nest. (By then, the rain had stopped.) Doesn't he have the cutest face?

Here's a look at the spot on the end of an egg that looks cracked. What do you think? I hope she didn't damage it when she jumped up.



Dad landed in the field. I haven't seen him do that before.

I uploaded the video where Mom got upset and jumped up and we can see something is going on with one of the eggs. Here's the Crack or Pip video (2:09):

The three chicks were being fed when I brought up the Scottish Wildlife Trust's Loch of the Lowes Osprey nest. Look at how nicely they are all lined up and showing good manners!

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Africam Black Eagles Two Pips, Dyfi Osprey Hatch Watch Continues, Loch of the Lowes Osprey Day 4,6&7, Loss of Eaglet at Catalina West End Nest



Here's a look at the egg that had a pip yesterday. It looks like part of the shell is gone. the second egg also has a pip, so we should see two babies soon.

It's hard to see if any of the Dyfi eggs have pips yet. We may just have to wait until we see bobble-heads...

I posted a short video of the Dyfi parents, Sharing Duties and Food (2:26)

There was a really good feeding at the Scottish Wildlife Trust's Loch of the Lowes Osprey nest.

It looked like the youngest got a lot of bites! One of the babies was so full, it turned away.

Sad news today at the Catalina West End Eagle nest today. Biologists were banding the eaglet when, for no reason, it died. They are going to do a necropsy to determine what happened.

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Africam Black Eagle Pip!, Dyfi Osprey Hatch Watch Continues, Harrison Bay Eagles Day 57&59, White Rock Eagles Day 35&36, Loch of the Lowes Osprey Day 3,5&6

We have a pip at the Africam Black Eagle nest! This is a s'cap I got before bed last night:

This is the first look at the pip this morning.

Mom is so pretty sitting on the nest. This really is a pretty location.


This s'cap is from Asleepnomore's video (used here with permission). It is hard to get a look at these eggs. But you can see the pip is bigger tonight.

Here's Asleepnomore's video. Check out just how little opportunity she gives you to see the eggs!

The Dyfi Osprey are still on hatch watch as well... And they too are pretty stingy with their views of the eggs... This is probably the best view of the eggs, but there was nobody in attendance so early in the morning to zoom the cam...

We got some zoom for this view of the eggs. I don't see any pip yet.

It's funny how small the Osprey on the back perch looks!

The happy couple... Mom has the leg band.

Yay, Zoomer brought us in close. Boo, hiss! Nesting material is in the way!
 
I'm still waiting for the Harrison Bay eaglets to venture out onto the branches. For now, they are content to lay around the nest -- although they are spending more time looking outward.

I saw some really vigorous wingercizing today.

Contemplating the world. I wonder what it's like to be a bird. You watch the parents come and go all day, then get it into your head that you can do that too. And one day you muster the courage to test the concept, and fly!
 
I noticed something black on the White Rock parent's head yesterday but figured it was something temporary. But it's still there today. Might need a good rain to wash it away.
 
It was just before sunrise (their time) when I checked in at the Scottish Wildlife Trust's Loch of the Lowes Osprey nest. Mom stood up at one point and babies sprang out. It's like they were just waiting for the weight of Mom to lift off and out popped their heads. Soon enough, they won't need to be brooded any more... There's a baby's head at 7:00 and another at 1:00.
 

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Hatch Watch Continues at the Africam Black Eagle Nest, Harrison Bay Eagles Day 56&58, White Rocke Eagles Day 34&35, Loch of the Lowes Osprey Day 2,4&5, Dyfi Osprey on Hatch Watch!

The Africam Black Eagle cam is freezing horribly. But, I did get two looks at the eggs today and I don't see a pip or any sign of hatching. Mom is spending most of the time on the eggs, as it should be...

Finally, a look at the eggs. Is that just dirt?

Mom is back on the nest and we get to see the angel on her back.

Then after dark, we see the eggs again. I don't see a pip in either egg.



It looked like a lazy day at the Harrison Bay nest. I haven't seen one of these eaglets tuck their head before. Growing is hard work!

Hours later and these two are snuggled together again. That's a turtle shell to their right. I've seen a lot of turtles eaten at this nest...

The eaglets are still flirting with branching.

Wingercizing helps to build their flight muscles.
 
They look full grown to me. They are eight weeks old.
 
Of course, they are snuggled up overnight.
 
Look at how big the White Rock babies are! They are five weeks old now...

I was concerned when Mom stood up at the Scottish Wildlife Trust's Loch of the Lowes Osprey nest and all I could see for a minute was two babies. First, Dad brought in a fish.

Then... Where's the baby?

It took a couple of attempts to get its head out from between its siblings.

I thought the littlest had a shot at getting one bite, but the opportunity was missed. The only baby to get any bites during this feeding was the one in front. I don't know how much the baby has gotten since I've been trying to record the Black Eagle nest. (So many nests, not enough bandwidth...) So, I haven't had an opportunity to watch this nest much...

The baby did get a morsel on the top of its head. And the little piggy that got all of the food needs a napkin!

The Dyfi Osprey nest is on hatch watch!