Upper Mississippi Bald Eagle Trio, Peregrine Management Program

Eagleholic has reported that the Upper Mississippi River nest seems to have three adults, one female and two males. Check Eagleholic's post for the details and a picture. A pair of Great Horned Owls might also be trying to use this nest. This might be an interesting nest to watch! Will I be watching? Darn skippy! (That's a yes!) Here's a link to the cam. 

Check out this story about the peregrine management program. Good stuff!

Berry College Bald Eagle is Attacked By An Owl

Much excitement last night at the Berry College Bald Eagle nest. Mom looked up a couple of times and it made me think that she heard something. But I didn't really think anything of it... She was doing an egg roll when suddenly something swooped across the nest, toward the camera. Scared me! Here's a video of the attack. This is a really good video, it shows the time leading up to the attack and how she kept looking up. At time 22:42:50 the attack happened. I think it startled me even more because I was already holding my breath -- scared that she was going to roll right out of the nest! (You'll see what I mean if you watch the video.) I also found a slo-mo video of the attack. Since this happened at night, and since the Great Horned Owl is a predator of eggs and babies, my first thought was G'Ho. But the attack happened so fast! Then I saw this picture that the college posted. Looks like an owl to me! They have also opened up the archive of the approach cam. This is 3 hours of video. Just go to the 18 minute mark. You can see the attack at time 00:18:10. (If any videos stop and start a lot, you can pause the video and let some of it buffer and then hit play again for smooth play-back.)

Mom ended up to the right of the egg bowl:

She made her way back to the egg bowl -- another harrowing event. I was worried she was going to step on the eggs (watch the videos above...) After she settled back down onto the eggs, she kept calling, but Dad Berry never showed up. If this had happened at the NBG nest, Dad Norfolk would have been in the nest in a flash. Not sure where Dad Berry was and I'm kind of disappointed that he didn't help defend the nest. Here's Mom Berry calling after the attack:

She was wide awake after the attack, this s'cap taken 20 minutes later. She is not relaxed at all:

 
And look at that scowl. She looks pretty angry.

OK. That's all I've got about the attack. Earlier in the evening, I had taken some other s'caps. First, Mom was passed out -- face plant mode:

Then she stood like this for a bit and I thought something might be tickling her belly!

This is what I saw when she finally backed off of the eggs. These two pictures were taken 2 minutes apart. I could have sworn that I was seeing a crack in the bottom egg and that it was changing. But, that could be a piece of the soft grass lining the bowl and it might have been moving with a breeze... And since there wasn't a hatchling in the nest this morning, it was probably grass, darn it!

So, that was yesterday after I had already done a blog post.

Today, I noticed that the view on the cam is different. It turns out that this is a PTZ cam. Well, at least it's a zoom cam. Here is a s'cap of the full frame. (You can compare this to the full frame s'cap I posted of sunrise on my 2/17 post - 4th pic on the page. See how much more of the tree and surrounding area you can see in the sunrise pic? They also have a new logo in the bottom left corner that I like.) It turns out that they have zoomed in so we can see the eggs better now that it's hatch time. I wish they'd tilt up a little so the adult's heads aren't cut off:

When Mom Berry is in the egg bowl, she uses her left wing as a crutch for her gimpy left leg. I'm a little worried about her and the youngsters that should be here any time now. She is coming close to stepping on eggs. What's going to happen when the babies start getting under foot? She is so unsteady these days...

Mom and Dad share a moment. She must not have needed a break because she didn't get up and Dad left.

Mom likes to pull the grasses in close after she gets situated. Sometimes, she ends up getting it on herself instead.

Bald Eagle Camellia's Location, Maddie On Things, Great Horned Owl on Feathered Photography, Smart Osprey, Seeing Eye Horse, Hallie Art

New post for Bald Eagle Camellia's location. He hasn't been very adventurous lately. Probably too hot to do much exploring!

I found a new dog website: Maddie On Things. Theron Humphrey rescued a coon hound and discovered that she has an incredible sense of balance. So, he takes pictures of her balancing on things. There's a story with a few pictures and then another site with pages of pictures.

Here's a great picture of a young Great Horned Owl on Ron Dudley's Feathered Photography blog.

I found an interesting story about an exhausted Osprey that hitched a ride during migration. I really am starting to think that these birds are super smart...

Have you ever heard of a guide horse helping the blind? The horse has really helped this woman retain her independence.

I learned today about a little blind Dachshund named Hallie. She paints pictures. You can watch a video of her painting at this link and you can see her paintings that are for sale at this link. Proceeds go to a dog rescue group. Pretty pictures and a good cause!

Bald Eagles Camellia and KE Locations,

Bald Eagle Camellia is still hanging out in Virginia Beach.

Bald Eagle KE is still a dumpster diver.

Ron Dudley has a nice post about Great Horned Owls on his Feathered Photography Blog.

Camellia's Location, Two Battling Bald Eagles, Osprey Rescue, Blog With Pictures of: Bald Eagles, Great Horned Owlets, Griffin Vultures

Camellia's location has been updated. He seems to have found a place he likes...

Here's a great picture of two battling Bald Eagles, right before their talons lock.

Check out this short video of an Osprey being rescued. It was hanging upside down high in a tree. The culprit: improperly discarded fishing line. Please fish responsibly! This bird was lucky. For many others, this situation is a death sentence...

I found a new blog. The entry Bald Eagle Salmon Strut features two Bald Eagles and one salmon. I especially like the first picture. It looks like one Bald Eagle is sneaking up (on tippy-toes) on the other Bald Eagle that has the salmon. I poked through some of this blogger's other posts and found one on Great Horned Owlets that I liked. There's also a post about Griffin Vultures -- hard to believe how pretty they are. They have beautiful brown heads and variegated wings. I'll be checking out more of this blog in the future!

Great Horned Owls Fledge, Feathered Photography

The Great Horned Owls that I watch have fledged. These are shortly before fledging:

Got a nice wing stretch:

They were very restless, at one point they were both on the deck rail at opposite ends of the balcony:

Then a short flight to a neighboring balcony:

This left the sibling confused. Here is the crouch getting ready to leap...:

...into the window of the house. At one point, its wing knocked the other camera askew, before finding its balance and perching there for a moment:

It jumped back down, and then, another leap into the window:

This confused sibling fledged too. No screen captures from that one though. Fly safe little ones!

Ron Dudley's Feathered Photography blog entry for today is about the mating ritual of the American Avocet. Very interesting and great pictures!

Favicon, Norfolk Bald Eagles Pictures by Duane Noblick, NX Location, Hybrid Animals, Make Instead of Buy, Great Horned Owls on Fledge Watch, White Rock Eagle Cam

Yay, my favicon is showing up now on my posts. I created and added to my template a favicon two nights ago and it has finally shown up! (A favicon is the little picture that shows up next to the address of my site when you save it as a favorite. It also shows up on the tab next to the name of my site.)

Duane Noblick took a bunch of new pictures of the Norfolk Bald Eagles over the weekend. There are pictures of both the male and female, carrying sticks, mating (probably more bonding than actual mating), and singing. You can see all of his pictures at the link provided above, or you can see a few of them along with his explanations at this link.

NX checked in on back-to-back days. Not sure what that's about. She did a lot of exploring in a day.

I found an older article about Polar Bears and Grizzly Bears mating in the wild. This has happened with bears in captivity. But scientists weren't sure if these hybrid Grolar Bears were being created in the wild. A few years ago, they found that they were. I looked for information about other hybrids and found an article, with pictures, about Ligers, Zebroids, Grolar Bears, Wholphins, Savannah Cats, Camas, Beefalo, Sheep-goats, Narwhal-beluga Hybrid, Mules and Hinnies, and Blood Parrots.

Here's an article about 7 things you can make instead of buying.

The Great Horned Owls are now on "fledge watch" -- hanging out on the railings. The below picture is from two cameras shooting from opposite ends:

Tonight I got a look at the White Rock Eagle Cam eggs:

Then, quick enough, it was back to incubating:

Nest Cam Screen Captures, NX location, Alaska Raptor Center, Fleecing the Llamas, Help Clean Up Hampton

Camera round-up:

Fort St Vrain has three bobble-heads. I know this isn't the best picture, but I think it really shows the size difference between the older two (both hatched on 3/29) and the youngest (hatched on 4/1):

Duke Farms has two bobble-heads. One is higher and a little bit to the right of the other.

Alcoa has two babies -- and look at the one that has already climbed out of the nest bowl! 

NCTC has two little ones. They are passed out!

It was a rainy day at Harrison Bay. You can see the Mom Eagle has her wings spread, trying to keep her babies warm and dry. We finally get to see the two bobble-heads for feeding time:

And some shots of the Great Horned Owls. The youngsters' plumage is starting to resemble the adult's.

NX has checked in. And for the second time, she has put on some miles! She is now exploring new territory after flying 29 miles from her last check-in!

This is interesting. Eagles that have been rehabilitated in Alaska get a tune-up before being released back into the wild. Check out what the Alaska Raptor Center does. The Wildlife Center of Virginia doesn't do this. I wonder if it's beneficial...

The city of Hampton is advertising two items that you may be interested in:

FLEECING THE LLAMAS
April 10, 17, 10:30-11:30 A.M.
Come to Bluebird Gap Farm, 60 Pine Chapel Road, and watch the llamas get their fleece sheared. Meet at the livestock barn. Free. For more information about all farm programs, including the hayride on Saturday, April 13 at noon, go to http://hampton.gov/bbgf/.

HELP CLEAN UP HAMPTON

Saturday April 13, 6 a.m.-noon

Invite family, friends, colleagues and acquaintances to spend just 30 minutes or more in a campaign to Walk Hampton Clean. Volunteers are encouraged to work with a partner using equipment – including litter sticks, safety vests and work gloves - provided by the Hampton Clean City Commission. The goal is to pick up litter across Hampton in the biggest cleanup ever. To register, fill out the online form. Information: 727-1130 or causink@hampton.gov

 

Pictures of HK, new location for NX, Great Horned Owls, Fort St Vrain nest

Pam Monahan took some new pictures of HK out at Honey Bee Golf Course. You can see her pictures of HK here. She has been taking pictures of HK pretty regularly. There are pictures dated 2/21, 2/25, 2/27, 3/3, 3/8, 3/13, 3/14, 3/20, 3/24, 3/29, 4/2 (If you hover over the picture, a menu comes up with an i for information. Once you open the information, you can grab it and move it out of the way as you arrow through the pictures.) There are 17 pictures of HK on her site. He is hanging out with an adult in some of these pictures. Is that his girlfriend? Pam has a ton of other eagle pictures as well as some nice nature photography. Part of her eagle collection includes pictures of Azalea. Take some time to explore her site! Thanks Pam for keeping us up to date on HK!

NX has a new location map today. She is in the same general area as her last check-in.

I haven't looked in on the Great Horned Owls in a while. They are getting big. This picture isn't the greatest, there is some sort of reflection... But you get the idea...

Here, you can see that there are two of them:

This pic shows some of their set-up -- and that one of the owls has moved even closer to the cam. (In the first pic the owl is in the planter next to its sibling. In the second pic, it was on the edge of the same planter. In this picture, it has moved across to the other planter and is really being a camera hog!) They have three cameras and switched cameras for this view.

The Fort St Vrain nest has a 3rd hatch!

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!



Nest cam roundup, Wildlife strikes at ORF and PHF, lead poisoning

Been checking out cams today:

Alcoa cam gave me a good look at two eggs:

Ft St Vrain gave me a look at part of an egg. There's just a little bit of white in front of the left wing:

I caught dinnertime at the SW FL eagle cam:

Here's both Great Horned Owl babies snuggled up to momma:

I did some research today at the FAA Wildlife Strike Database. I am going to Vegas in six weeks and refuse to use the Norfolk airport, both in protest over the treatment of the NBG eagles and because of safety concerns at that airport. Today I compiled the data for the number of wildlife strikes at each airport since Mom Norfolk was killed on 4/26/11. Here's the graphs (looks to me like PHF is much safer than ORF):



Sad news. On Virginia's Eastern Shore, several Bald Eagles were poisoned. Four Bald Eagles are dead and another is receiving treatment at The Wildlife Center of Virginia. The culprit is lead poisoning. They are investigating if they were poisoned on purpose or accidentally. A lot of raptors are accidentally poisoned by hunters. If a hunter shoots but can't find the animal, it can die and the lead shot is then consumed by scavengers. Or, if a hunter field dresses an animal and leaves the gut pile where scavengers can get to it, they can ingest lead that way. Lead in the digestive tract leaches a lot of lead into an animal's body, often causing debilitation and death. If you know a hunter, please send a link to this article by The Wildlife Center of Virginia. Voluntary effort by hunters can really make a difference!

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.