White-bellied Sea Eagles Day 63, Video of the Africam Black Eagle Kendi Flying, Center For Conservation Biology Paper About Their Woodpecker Translocation Preparations, Shelties Playing, Don't Let The Door Hit 'Ya Mayor Fraim!

The White-bellied Sea Eagle chicks were up early this morning.

Their bird neighbors were being noisy. It seems like he first thing a songbird wants to do upon waking is sing!

I like it when I catch them in similar poses. It makes comparing them easier. I which that tree trunk/branch wasn't in the way...

Something has caught their attention.

I wonder if they still have some growing to do. Their wingspans don't look full size yet.

Their chests are finally the same shade of brown. It took SE15 a while to catch up to SE16 in this regard.

It's fun watching them watch the same thing.

I found this video that was posted yesterday by the Africam Black Eagle folks of Kendi flying (3:00). It looks like she has mastered the art of flying (although there was a missed landing). Sometimes she is hard to track against the rock and brush background -- Great job to the videographer!

 

The Center for Conservation Biology has published a paper: Biologists Prepare For Historic Woodpecker Move. I'm interested in finding out how well this works. I hope they write another paper with the results...

 

I posted this on my dog blog, but I love this video so much and wanted to share it here too. I had my phone with me at the right moment today. The Shelties had a little impromptu play session today. They are so much fun! Check out the Shelties Playing video (0:38) -- Shannon is laying down and Sky is standing up:

 

Awesome news out of Norfolk!! Mayor Fraim will not run for reelection! Maybe the city can now get someone in there who has some common sense! You can read my thoughts on this guy here.

Berry College S'Cap Of The Day, Norfolk Airport Rant, Bald Eagle Camellia

Here's the Berry College babies today, before the weather got bad. Some kind of prey item to the left:

I have said for years that it is not safe to fly in or out of the Norfolk Airport due to their unwillingness to address their problems with wildlife on their property. The number of birds at the airport is increasing and the number of bird strikes is on the rise. Check out this article and watch the video. Steven Sterling, the airport's Operations Director, is interviewed for the article. Talk about deer in the headlights. This guy is tap-dancing about the issue, and not doing a very good job of it. The article points out that the airport has not implemented corrective measure as recommended by biologists and the FAA. Instead, they have spent $40,000 to harass the Bald Eagles (whose territory is the neighboring Botanical Garden) and tear down their nests. Sterling says they are doing what is reasonable. He states that complying with the necessary action on airport property is the airport's long term goal. What isn't stated is that what they really want is to put in a new runway. (This part is not from the news story, this is my opinion on the matter: I believe that wetlands rules have prevented them from making the changes necessary to put in another runway. But now they can sell these changes under the guise of mitigating a hazard to aviation by removing habitat that is friendly to wildlife. And what a surprise! That would give them room for their new runway. In the mean time, they do nothing about the hazard presented by wildlife on their property. I think this has been their plan all along. Let the problem at the airport fester until they can sell the idea that gets them their runway. They are holding the flying public's safety hostage to get their new runway. They have been trying for a decade to get this runway, and now they see their chance.) The airport is completely negligent. And Mayor Fraim must want another runway because he is complicit in the negligence. (See my previous posts.) I have said from the start of this mess that the airport needs to take action to keep wildlife off of airport property instead of chasing the Bald Eagles out of the Botanical Garden. From the article: 

Bird counts at the airport noted only a handful of bald eagles in the area, but more than a thousand heavy and dangerous birds like the Canada goose and the Double-crested cormorant.

I continue my recommendation to not use that airport! It's just not safe. The last bit of the news article says that Bald Eagles are becoming more abundant in the area. Ummm, when a wrote a letter years ago to the airport, Mayor Fraim, and Norfolk's City Council, I told them that's what would happen when you remove a territorial pair of Bald Eagles that chase other Bald Eagles away... What a bunch of idiots.

Good news! The reports of the demise of Camellia's transmitter are greatly exaggerated! He did report in. The hope is that when the clouds clear, his transmitter will get enough of a charge to start regularly sending his location again. Talons crossed!

Bonus Post: Norfolk Residents -- Please Vote Today May 6th And Get Rid Of Mayor Fraim!

I just wanted to repeat what I posted recently. I'll have a regular post later today.

It's the event we have all been waiting for! Norfolk's Mayor Paul Fraim is up for reelection. This is the man who is responsible for the mistreatment of Bald Eagle Dad Norfolk and his girlfriend Dirty Tail. If you are a Norfolk resident, please vote on May 6th and get rid of Fraim! Please also support Tommy Smigiel (Ward 5), who is up for reelection. He is the only person on the Norfolk City Council that wanted to leave Dad Norfolk and Dirty Tail alone and take appropriate action at the airport to mitigate the risk of wildlife at the airport. The rest of the Norfolk City Council fell into line behind Fraim, who chose politics over safety. I could get behind cleaning house in Norfolk, with the exception of Tommy Smigiel. Too bad only one other incumbent is up for reelection: Paul Riddick (Ward 4). His seat is challenged by G.W. "Billy" Cook Jr. Please vote for Billy!

To summarize, here's who to vote for on May 6th if you want to increase safety at the Norfolk airport and have a hope of Bald Eagles Dad Norfolk and Dirty Tail being left alone:
Ward 4: Billy Cook
Ward 5: Tommy Smigiel
Mayor: Jane Bethel or Michael Muhammad

Berry College Bald Eagle Day 67 (Branching Milestone Today!), Nest Cam Round-up: Hays, Loch of the Lowes, Two Harbors, and White Rock, Bald Eagle NX Checked In, Norfolk Mayor and City Council Elections On May 6th, Eagle On Alliance Sale of Dad Norfolk Logo Items

Today is day 67 for the Berry College Bald Eagle and... It's Branch day!!! This is another step in the development of an eaglet. I didn't get s'caps of the first branching because I was away from my computer. But here's a link to a video of the big event. I did get s'caps of the eaglet branching later in the day. Here's my s'caps for the day. The eaglet spent the major part of the day off-cam...

 

...bending down here to self-feed.

The eaglet did finally make an appearance for me.

The eaglet did some feaking. (I saw it feaking for the first time yesterday. Nothing like a clean, sharp beak!)

Then there was some wingercizing. Such a fun time to watch a nest!

The eaglet then thought about the situation some.

 And then hopped onto the branch again. This was the first time I got to see the eaglet branching.

The eaglet didn't stay there long. When I finished saving this s'cap, the eaglet was back down in the nest.

There was a lot of stretching and flapping today.

And there was more standing around.

 And some more feaking.

I love this picture! It could be more clear, but I love how the wing is stretched out to the cam.

More standing around.

Then something caught the eaglet's attention. I don't know what it was, but the eaglet stayed like this for a while.

The eaglet has a habit of stretching first one side, and then the other.

That's when you know more wingercizing is coming!

I brought up the Hays nest to an interesting scene. The eaglets are spread out pretty equally, with one facing away from the parent with the food. I've seen eaglets that are old enough to self-feed turn away from the sibling that claimed the food. It's as if they don't even want to watch.

The two closest to the parent were being fed. Look at the crop on the eaglet on the left side.

Then the parent spotted something above the nest. After looking at it for a few seconds, it flew away. It was probably a raptor that needed to be chased out of the territory.

Much to my surprise, one of the eaglet stood up! I haven't been paying attention -- how old are these chicks? (I have since checked. They are 33, 31, and 28 days old. And how old was the Berry chick when it first stood up? The first day I saw it stand up was day 35.)

Then (pick my jaw up off of the ground) another of the chicks stood up. And then one just starts walking around like no big deal! I am going to guess that the two older chicks are males. Males develop faster than females because their full-grown size is smaller.

Look at those tail feathers coming in!

Here's a look at the baby with a fat crop. No worries, they are getting plenty to eat...

Later in the evening it's raining, with Mom trying to keep her babies dry.

I had a minute to bring up the Scottish Wildlife Trust's Loch of the Lowes Osprey cam. I was happy to see both on the nest, but can't say who is who...

I was hoping to see a shift change. Instead, the one standing flew away. But the incubating adult did raise up a little and I got to see two of the eggs.

The Two Harbors cam is frozen, showing the baby snuggled up in front of one of the adults.

One of the White Rock chicks has escaped from the nest bowl!

And gets sat on... Baby, "Hello. Did you forget that I'm back here?" Parent, "Didn't forget. Keeping you both warm!"

I checked on some other nests and when I came back, both chicks were in the nest bowl.

 And when I came back again later, Mom was just settling on the chick, facing the wrong direction. Still pretty from the wide angle cam and from close up...

 Bald Eagle NX checked in. She is sticking to familiar territory.

It's the event we have all been waiting for! Norfolk's Mayor Paul Fraim is up for reelection. This is the man who is responsible for the mistreatment of Bald Eagle Dad Norfolk and his girlfriend Dirty Tail. If you are a Norfolk resident, please vote on May 6th and get rid of Fraim! Please also support Tommy Smigiel (Ward 5), who is up for reelection. He is the only person on the Norfolk City Council that wanted to leave Dad Norfolk and Dirty Tail alone and take appropriate action at the airport to mitigate the risk of wildlife at the airport. The rest of the Norfolk City Council fell into line behind Fraim, who chose politics over safety. I could get behind cleaning house in Norfolk, with the exception of Tommy Smigiel. Too bad only one other incumbent is up for reelection: Paul Riddick (Ward 4). His seat is challenged by G.W. "Billy" Cook Jr. Please vote for Billy!

To summarize, here's who to vote for on May 6th if you want to increase safety at the Norfolk airport and have a hope of Bald Eagles Dad Norfolk and Dirty Tail being left alone:
Ward 4: Billy Cook
Ward 5: Tommy Smigiel
Mayor: Jane Bethel or Michael Muhammad

Eagle On Alliance (EAO) is doing some fund-raising by selling items with a logo of Dad Norfolk. Eagle On Alliance is doing great work, trying to get the city of Norfolk to take action at the airport and leave Dad Norfolk and Dirty Tail alone. Here's a link to the page that has the items for sale. (I am not affiliated with EAO and do not benefit from sales of these items.)

Waiting Continues at Berry College Bald Eagle Nest, The 9th Bald Eagle Nest Removed at Norfolk Botanical Garden, Decorah Bald Eagles Defend Nest, A Year of Blogging

Waiting and waiting for a hatch at the Berry College Bald Eagle nest. Tomorrow is day 35 for the second egg that was laid. I am surprised we haven't seen a hatch yet at this nest. There can be a delay in the hatching of the first egg if Mom delayed incubating the egg, to close the gap in hatch time. There is less sibling rivalry if the hatches occur closer together instead of one getting a 3 day head start (eggs are generally laid 3 days apart). I hold my breath and strain to see the eggs every time she stands up. And so do over 7,000 other people -- the number of people watching the cam at any one time these days. It's after 11:00PM and there's still almost 4,600 people watching a Bald Eagle sleep! Anyway, I could've sworn I saw a pip hole the other day. But I haven't seen anything like it again since then, so it must not have been. She's still gimpy on her left leg - something else to worry about. Here's our sleeping beauty:

There's more disheartening news for the Norfolk Bald Eagles. Eagle On Alliance reports that a 9th nest has been removed from the Norfolk Botanical Garden. Norfolk's Mayor Fraim is proving to be the most pig-headed, stubborn fool for continuing an effort that is obviously not working. There is now more eagle activity around NBG now that the Norfolk pair doesn't have a nest to defend. And there was a Bald Eagle struck and killed at the airport last month -- proving that his plan is not working. The Bald Eagle that was killed was not one of the Norfolk pair. By concentrating their wildlife mitigation efforts against one Bald Eagle pair at the neighboring property, they are leaving the flying public at the mercy of all the other wildlife that is free to come and go at the airport. Feel free to let Mayor Frain know what you think by sending him an email at mayor@norfolk.gov. And now Mayor Fraim, I'm talking to you: You made a bad call. If your ego is too big, you don't even have to admit you made a mistake. Just institute a mitigation plan on airport property and leave the eagles alone. Here's why you should:

• It is cruel to keep removing the nests built by the Norfolk pair.
• Irreparable harm is being done to the trees at the Norfolk Botanical Garden.
• Revenue is down at the Norfolk Botanical Garden because people are allowing their membership to lapse and people have stopped going there over this issue.
• You are making yourself look worse the longer this continues. 
• Most importantly, you are endangering the flying public by not taking appropriate steps on airport property to mitigate the threat of wildlife at the airport.

The Decorah Bald Eagles just faced a threat. This is what a Dad Bald Eagle is supposed to do when Mom calls for help. (The Berry College Dad could learn a thing or two from the Decorah Dad...) Check out this video of the Decorah Bald Eagle Nest. (So nice that they have sound!) I don't know if he's trying to protect her at 3:05 or if he's just trying to make himself look bigger to whatever is posing a threat. I like to think that he was trying to protect her... It's nice to see them side-by-side facing a threat together.

It was a year ago today that I wrote my first blog post. Thanks to all who have found my blog and have supported this endeavor! This post will be number 232. There have been over 11,300 page views. Woot!

Bald Eagles Dad Norfolk and DT (Dirty Tail) Are Safe, Bald Eagle Camellia Checked In

I don't usually do two posts in one day, but I've got such good news out of Norfolk! Dad Norfolk and his mate DT have been seen together since a Bald Eagle was killed recently at the Norfolk International Airport. Although I am saddened that an eagle was killed once again due to the city and airport's negligence, I am happy that it was not Dad Norfolk or DT. I wonder if Norfolk's Mayor Fraim and his accomplices on the City Council are going to continue the (obviously) ineffective practice of harassing Dad Norfolk and DT while they are on Norfolk Botanical Garden property or if they are going to pry their heads out of their butts and do something that works. Maybe this eagle's death wasn't for nothing. Maybe it will bring about necessary change in the way they are trying to mitigate the risk presented by wildlife. At the very least, I hope they get the maximum fine for the illegal take of a Bald Eagle! Please, please, please, if you live in the city of Norfolk, vote them out of office (everyone except Tommy Smigiel.) Mayor Fraim and the inept members of his City Council need to go!

Bald Eagle Camellia has checked in. I'd think that we should be able to soon see a pattern that indicates where he will build a nest...

Another Bald Eagle Was Struck And Killed At The Norfolk International Airport, Snowy Day At The Berry College Bald Eagle Nest

The Virginian Pilot is reporting that a Bald Eagle was struck and killed at the Norfolk Airport today. Other news sources are reporting the same -- all reports lack details. Air Wisconsin strikes again. What is wrong with those pilots that they can't see a huge bird on the runway and not land on top of it? Praying it wasn't Dad Norfolk or DT. Thank goodness the City of Norfolk was busy keeping them out of the Norfolk Botanical Garden. The flying public and the Bald Eagles are so much safer... I wonder now if the Norfolk City Council and Mayor Fraim will see the folly of their plan to drive the Bald Eagles out of the garden as a means to prevent Bald Eagle strikes at the airport? Bunch of idiots... (except Tommy Smigiel.) I never wanted to be able to say, "I told you so."

Today was an interesting day at the Berry College Bald Eagle Nest. Their feathers provide so much insulation that the snow doesn't melt. It just piles up until she moves. And she stays warm and dry.

 
Eventually, she eased up off of the eggs.

Scratched that itch:

Did an egg roll:

Showed off her eggs to the camera:

Then she turned to face the opposite direction, here she is just laying back down. She's got her beak buried in the nesting material and is shimmying back and forth, settling back down with her brood patch on the eggs.

She is settled here, but looks uncomfortable with her butt in the air on top of the snow. She never did shed a big chunk of snow from the middle of her back. But the thin layer of snow is new accumulation since she laid back down.

It wasn't long before she turned back around.

I'm not sure why, but she stood up and shook off all of the snow.

Then she settled back down. Every eagle I've ever seen settle down to incubate eggs digs their beak into the nest to act as an anchor while shimmying back and forth.

She came up with her beak covered in snow.

This all took place over the course of an hour...