Bald Eagle HE Has Died, Berry College Eagles Second Egg, Bald Eagle HK and Sterling, Black Eagle Makhaza, Africam Black Eagle Waterfall Video, Songbird Forest

Sadly, it's true that Bald Eagle HE was found dead this week onboard the Navy base at Little Creek. She died of blunt force trauma, but it likely wasn't witnessed since the actual cause wasn't listed. (It's not reported if she was struck by a vehicle or aircraft or if she flew into something.) Here's a link to the story. I started watching the Norfolk Botanical Garden nest in 2008 -- but the nesting season was cut short when Buddy was removed from the nest. So, my first year to truly watch this nest was 2009, the year of Azalea (HH), HK (now at Honey Bee Golf Course), and HE (who last year became the mate of her Dad). There has been a whole history of loss for Dad Norfolk, with this just being the latest. I'm sad at the loss of HE and for the loss of another of Dad's mates...

The Berry College Bald Eagles are right on time! Mom Berry laid her second egg of 2016 almost exactly 3 days after the first egg. She missed by less than 2 hours! If there will be a third egg, it will be Wednesday. Maybe late Wednesday. Maybe into the early morning hours of Thursday... Egg watch continues! Here's video of Mom Berry laying the second egg (10:15) -- vocalizing like she did while laying the first egg.

And here's another video from today of Dad bringing lunch and grass (9:56) to the nest.
(I will embed videos when it will let me...)

Here's a few s'caps from today. I like this one because we can see the egg and Mom is looking up:

She's not limping this year. But you can see how her leg sticks out. I think she had a broken leg and it has finally healed. It's not perfect... But she is able to walk on it and I suppose she can forage for herself.

This is from the second video I posted today. But I had to post a still as well. Dad was practically sitting on Mom's head while trying to do some nestorations. She was very tolerant.

Pam Monahan has a great post about Bald Eagle HK and his mate Sterling. She has a little of everything in this latest post, including them mating! Talons crossed for an egg this year! Here's a link to her post.

I had reported that Black Eagle Makhaza, from the 2007 Africam Black Eagle nest, was being treated. She has no improvement of function in her legs and wings. She is in pain. They have decided to humanely euthanize her. Here's a link to their statement.

Unfortunately, they used the phrase, "let her go" instead of euthanize. Which has led some people to ask for clarification. She is being euthanized. Then there's another group of people that are against euthanizing her. She would have died a horrible death without human intervention. And now, after no improvement, it would be cruel to keep her alive. She isn't living her destiny. She will not recover. She is in pain.

And speaking of the Africam Black Eagle nest... They had a hailstorm there. Check out this incredible video of their waterfall after a recent hailstorm. Mother nature can be pretty wild!

Check out this article about the "Songbird Forest" in Brazil.

Loch of the Lowes Osprey Tracking Update, Bald Eagles HK and Sterling at Honey Bee Golf Course, Bald Eagle Azalea Jigsaw Puzzle

There is a tracking update for the Loch of the Lowes Osprey.

Pam Monahan has a new post. Bald Eagles HK and Sterling were spotted at Honey Bee Golf Course this past week. I hope they make a go of it this year!

Did anybody do the jigsaw puzzle of Buddy I posted the other day? Here's a jigsaw puzzle of Bald Eagle Azalea when she was 1 month old and got her leg bands.

Bald Eagle Camellia Checked In, Berry College Eagle Nest S'cap, Snowy Owls

Bald Eagle Camellia finally checked in. It just took some sunlight to recharge his solar-powered transmitter. Camellia's transmitter has been working for 1357 days. Bald Eagle Azalea's transmitter worked for 1397 days -- a couple of months shy of four years. It seems like Camellia's has a lot more outages than Azalea's did. If I remember right, she checked in like clockwork, until she didn't. Maybe she shed the transmitter and harness -- she was seen beaking at it. Maybe Camellia's will continue to work long enough that we can see patterns that indicate he has built a nest. I wish we had gotten that with Azalea... I hope that someone reports that they have spotted her!

This is an interesting pose for Mom Berry. Her head is almost tucked in. It makes me think that she started out tightly tucked in and then relaxed, like she's really getting some good sleep. I'm betting that Dad Berry is nearby.

My friend Diane sent me a link to a local story about the Snowy Owl Irruption. They are all over the place and I can't seem to find one! Here's a quote by Ned Brinkley from the story, regarding the need for people to keep far enough away from wildlife that the animal isn't disturbed: "It does come down to common sense, which is not equally distributed in the human population." Haha, he's got that right! Anyway, Snowy Owls seem to be all over the place. Mocking me...

Turtle Bay nest, new Eagle behavior, Camellia's location, Azalea out-of-touch, SW FL nest, Connecticut River Bald Eagles, another thought on the pesticide poisoned Bald Eagle, disabled Bald Eagle on cam, Bald Eagle scuffle, nests in North Dakota, Feathered Photography post

Lots of material today. Yesterday's post was short because I just wasn't feeling it after the bad day at Turtle Bay. They are trying to piece together what happened at that nest. Here is an article.  I disagree with the article. I think the intruder is male and most likely got into a fight with the resident male. The intruder's feet look damaged on the web cam. I think that the resident male is either dead, injured or just chased away by the intruder. I grabbed this screen capture of female #4's feet last year. No doubt she was scrapping with the other females that were seen at the Norfolk nest last year.

With the increase in the eagle population, we will see more fights over territory. Here is a timely article that discusses how we are learning new things as eagles are adapting to areas that have reached saturation.

We have a new location map for Camellia. He is still local, hanging out on the south-side. Reese has also made an entry for Azalea, that he has received his last transmission from her. I had thought that the battery on her transmitter would gradually die. I didn't expect it to work one day and then to kaput! I was hoping that it would last for another year so we could see where she builds her nest. Oh well. Maybe we'll still luck out with ground reports...

I took this screen capture the other night of the SW FL Eaglets. They both have their heads tucked in, asleep. I'd wonder what they were if it weren't for the feet...

They are branching now, so there's only one in the nest this evening:

Here's an article on Bald Eagles on the Connecticut River. I'm posting the link here because I love the first picture in this article! This 4 year old Bald Eagle has the most awesome eye stripe I've ever seen! So pretty!

I mentioned recently that there was a Bald Eagle that died from pesticide poisoning. It also had lead in its system. I should have mentioned that it's possible that the Eagle consumed fish that was poisoned when a toxic substance washed into a body of water. It's concerning since we eat fish too...

The Bald Eagle nest cam Eagles4Kids is also giving us something new to learn about. The resident female showed up for the 2012/2013 nesting season with serious injuries to both of her feet. As the season progressed, she lost her right foot and is now making do with a stump. This resident pair has stayed together despite her disability. You can read about her disability here. And she is defying the odds -- she laid an egg on March 9th!

Note to self: Do not release a rehabilitated Bald Eagle near another Bald Eagle's nest... Good video of two Bald Eagles interacting with each other -- at one point one Bald Eagle flips over so they can face each other, talon-to-talon. No surprise that their feet can get pretty ugly!

North Dakota's Game and Fish Department is asking for the public to report the locations of Bald Eagle nests.

I love Ron Dudley's blog, Feathered Photography. Here's a link to his posts for 3/22 and 3/23. An American Kestrel and a Short-eared Owl. Wonderful pictures and explanations!

Local birds, Eagle locations, Eagle cams, Sea Lion pups in trouble

The temps are getting warmer and a pair of my House Finches are back! I  also spied two Brown Thrashers hopping across my back deck. They are huge! I don't know what I've done with my little point and shoot, but I need to find it!

Reese has posted new updates for our eagles:
Azalea's location
Camellia's location

Here's a pic from the SW FL Eagle Cam this evening. Stretch those wings! And look at those talons!

I caught feeding time at the Alcoa nest this evening. Here's some screen captures:

Say hi to the world!

Then Dad showed up.

He was trying to help with feeding.

I did some research yesterday on the Minnesota Bound Eagle Cam. They have two eggs, just laid on March 9th and March 12th. I doubt that they will lay another since it's been 5 days since the last egg was laid. I'm really excited about watching this nest since I'm coming in right at egg laying. And the cam picture is really nice.
 
I got a lead on another Bald Eagle nest cam: the NCTC cam in Sheperdstown, WV. They had a hatch yesterday and a hatch today. Very nice, hatching just a day apart! Here's a link to the NCTC cam. Mom finally moved and I tried to get a pic just now. But it's starting to get dark there and the cam picture is very pixelated. The screen capture I took looks horrible. I did see two heads bobbing around. 

Sick and malnourished Sea Lion pups are washing ashore in record numbers in California. Here's a link to the story. I saw a spot on TV about it. Fishermen are reporting that bait fish have disappeared, which Seal Lions rely upon. I hope they can figure out what is going on in the waters off of California.

Hampton Chemical Collection, HK, Dr Watts, eagle locations, leucistic Bald Eagle, cam pics

Hampton has its first Chemical Collection of 2013 this weekend. We've seen how much our Bald Eagles like to visit landfills. Let's keep all of this yucky stuff out of the landfills! You have to be a resident of Hampton to attend this collection. Here's the ad:

HOUSEHOLD CHEMICAL COLLECTION

Saturday, March 16, 8 a.m.-noon

Hampton’s first household chemical and electronics collection for 2013 will be at the Public Works Operations Complex, 419 N. Armistead Ave. Bring unwanted chemicals or electronics for proper disposal and recycling. Chemicals include paints, solvents, gas and insecticides. Electronics includes computers, cell phones, stereo equipment and anything that plugs into a wall and uses rechargeable batteries. Additional collections in Hampton will be on May 18, July 20, Sept. 21 and Nov. 16. Information: 757-259-9850 or Hampton Customer Call Center at 3-1-1 or 727-8311.

Duane has some new pics posted on his site -- including some new pics of HK in his nest. HK looks so grown up!

Dr Watts has been out on a survey of Bald Eagle nests. Read about his report on the Richmond eagles. Dr Watts has also written about the recent survey on the CCB website -- pictures included.

We have new locations for our eagles:
Azalea's location
Camellia's location

NX has also checked in a few times this past week.

Here's a link to a picture of a leucistic Bald Eagle. This is such a beautiful bird! I love leucistic Bald Eagles and this one is probably the prettiest I've seen. I wish there was more than one pic posted...

Some cam pics from today (see my post of 3/13 for links to these cams):



I love the fuzzy legs on this one!



This is a nice family pic.



A good shot of the Alcoa eggs



Ft St Vrain nest has 3 eggs!



Photo website, Buddy, NBG, animal attacks, Owl nest cam, Black Bear mom and 4 cubs

I found another photography website to follow. Ron Dudley has just posted some Osprey pictures on his blog: Feathered Photography. I want to check out his site some more! I've just spent a half hour looking at a variety of his posts. He is very active, posting pictures often. And he includes explanations about the behavior he observes. Very interesting. Oops. Just spent another half hour on this site. Be sure to check this one out!

There is another post from the Wildlife Center of Virginia about Buddy's training. Raina posted another update on March 9th. Buddy is so smart! Check it out here.

Reese has posted updated locations for our eagles.
Azalea's update, including a picture taken by Cary!
Camellia's update.

The Norfolk Eagles and the situation at the Norfolk Botanical Garden are back in the news. Eagle On Alliance has hired a lawyer and has charged the City of Norfolk with violating the permit to remove Bald Eagle nests at NBG. Check out Rose's post on the Norfolk Eagles Forum. There are three links in her post.

Here are some stories of animals attacking people in the DC/Maryland/Virginia area. There is an account of an owl that kept attacking a jogger that I found interesting. They really are silent when they fly...

I found a nest cam of a Great Horned Owl. The eggs were laid on 1/20 and 1/23. They hatched on 2/22 and 2/24. There are two angles shown in one shot:

Here's a video of a Black Bear and her four cubs in New York as they get a check-up by some researchers.

Eagle locations, video and cam links, Kingfisher sighting

Reese has returned and has posted some updates:

Camellia's update.

Azalea's update.

KE's update.

NX has also checked in recently, on 3/10. Here's a link to NX's update. Is it just me or does anyone else think it's strange that NX has stayed within a few miles of her release sight? I had asked where this brood would consider their natal territory, since Bald Eagles are supposed to return to their natal territory. I wondered if it was NBG, WCV or where they were released. I was told that their natal territory had been established as NBG before they were taken from the nest. So far, NX hasn't shown any inclination to explore beyond where she was released. She must be foraging without any problems. But Azalea has shown us that even catfish farms don't keep an eagle's interest forever. So, what's with NX?

I came across this story of a volunteer pilot transporting an injured Bald Eagle to a treatment center. It has embedded video at the top of the story. What's neat is that after the story finishes, you can click on another video. So, from here I went to a story about a Bald Eagle that was hit by a truck and stuck in the grill. From there, I watched a video about a puppy that got stuck in a cactus and the crowd of people that showed up to adopt him. Here's the start to watch these three videos.

Part of my property is wetlands, 3rd house down from the water. I had thought a few times that I'd heard a Kingfisher out back. This morning I saw a big bird on a post in the wetlands. I was inside looking out my back door window maybe 25 feet away. It was big. Then it turned and then took off and I realized it was a Kingfisher. I stepped outside and was able to hear it as it flew from branch to branch. I had no idea they were so big! I didn't get a picture... I just need to glue a camera onto my hand!

Some eagle cams to check out.
The SW Florida eaglets are full grown. They will fledge soon.
Fort St Vrain eagles are incubating.
Alcoa eagles -- Liberty and Justice -- in Davenport, Iowa are incubating

SW Florida nest 3/11 11:14PM



Azalea's location, eagles and bears in the news

Azalea checked in around 11:00PM March 5th. She's still hanging around on the south-side.

Azalea's location 3/5 11:00PM

I found another photographer to follow. Ted Ellis has pictures of Bald Eagles, Hummingbirds and Cardinals on his photography site. He also has some backyard birds (don't we all!), large birds and silhouettes. I usually don't care for music on photography web pages -- I'd rather save the bandwidth. However, I can only complain so much about this site since I found myself singing along...

This article is from the Washington Post dated 2/26/13. It's about the Bald Eagle population in the Chesapeake Bay Tidal Region and Dr Watts (from the Center for Conservation Biology) is quoted. I find it interesting that Bald Eagles are starting to use man-made objects to nest upon, since most of the prime real estate is gone.

The Street Smart Naturalist blog has a great article about the different avian wildlife that is drawn to his yard because of the huge Douglas Firs in the yard. I am always dismayed when I see tracts of land cleared for a housing development, with landscapers coming in after the homes are built and planting puny little trees. I wish that the people that build housing developments would make the effort to leave some of the mature trees. It's not like they can be replaced. I know it adds a layer of complexity to the build, but you can't replace mature trees!

Who doesn't love baby bears!?!? Bearizona Wildlife Park has five black bear cubs. So cute! And a polar bear cub was born at the Buffalo Zoo. Even cuter!

I've got family coming into town tomorrow, so I'm not sure when my next post will be...

Survey, Norfolk Eagles Forum, Eagle locations, NBG eagle videos

Over in the left column, under my bio, is a survey. I'm wondering what kinds of wildlife everyone might be interested in. So please help me out and take the survey! It's open for a few days. Of course, I will be including items about Bald Eagles and some other raptors. If I didn't include your favorite wildlife as a survey choice, please let me know in a comment. Thanks!

Great news! The Norfolk Eagles Forum is not going away! A great big thanks to MagInAlex for stepping up and saving the day! I'm going to keep my blog going anyway. It was such a helpless feeling when the Forum Admins decided to close the forum. So, I'm keeping the blog. But I'll also be posting over at the forum and helping out as a site administrator.

Azalea (2009 nest band HH) and Camillia (2010 nest band NC) have checked in.

Azalea checked in on 3/2 at 3:00PM. I believe this is Suffolk:

Azalea's location on March 2nd at 3:00PM

And Camellia checked in on 3/2 at 11:00PM. He is still hanging out around First Landing State Park:

Camellia's location on March 2nd at 11:00PM


NX (2011 nest) hasn't checked in since 2/25, when she was still less than 3 miles from where she was released in 2012. She wanders around in areas that don't have great cell coverage and can go for some time without checking in.

I came across the Norfolk Botanical Garden's archives of Eagle Cam videos. Here's a link. The videos are from the last nesting season, before Mom Norfolk died.

Azalea's Transmitter Placement May 20, 2009

I posted pictures and links to two videos from the day that Azalea was fitted with her transmitter. I am copying my forum post to my blog so it's not lost.



Azalea was hooded to keep her calm during the transmitter fitting. She is being passed from Libby Mojica to Dr Bryan Watts. Libby is responsible for fitting the transmitters on Bald Eagles.



She was surprisingly calm without the hood



Azalea's transmitter. She is being held by Dr Bryan Watts.



Another view of Azalea's transmitter.



Transmitter and look at those wings!!



The transmitter strap is fitted like a backpack.



Eaglet gives an exclusive interview



Azalea's profile

 It was during the transmitter fitting that I realized that my little point-and-shoot could take video. So I tried it out and posted the following videos. The first part, I actually was holding my camera sideways (rookie mistake) and posted sideways video. Since then, I've gotten software that can rotate video, so it's not sideways any more... Here are the links:

Azalea Video part 1 (0:19)

Azalea Video part 2 (0:39)

Banding of HH (Azalea), HK, and HE April 22, 2009

This was my first post on the Norfolk Eagles Forum, and I'm copying it here because I want to preserve it. This was my first time seeing a Bald Eagle up close and I couldn't get over how big these "babies" were. I even referred to one as a monster -- a reference to size. These pictures were all taken with my little point-and-shoot. Here's the post:



The table was far away and my zoom was not up to snuff





And the crowd goes wild




One of the monsters (this is actually Azalea - and she was by far the biggest of the three)





The baby (this is HE -- the little sister)



Big size difference (Azalea on the left, HE on the right)

This band is HH (later named Azalea when she was fitted with a transmitter)



The solar powered transmitter will be fitted on one of the eaglets in May and will track its movements for a few years



The youngest, HE. You can just see her band.



The money shot: L-R Dr Bryan Watts with Sunday (HH -- Azalea), Reese Lukei with Saturday (HK), and Stephen Living with Wednesday (HE) -- up until this point, the eaglets were referred to by their hatch days.



Mom and Dad Norfolk as I was leaving