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...
One of my favorite eagle cam nests, Berry College, has their first egg! I got these screen captures on Sunday:
They were all over the place, doing nesting preps. I wasn't surprised to find that they've got their first egg today. This evening finds Mom on the nest incubating the egg:
And with some patience I was able to get a screen capture of the egg. I'm not surprised to find Dad perched on a branch for the night. I'm very excited and look forward to watching this nest.
Duane went out to Chincoteague looking for Snowy Owls -- and found four of them! Check out his beautiful pictures here!
In my post on Sunday I commented that Jim Yanello had gotten a picture of Bald Eagle Camellia. Reese's post now has the pictures. Reese commented that Camellia's longer wing feathers are older and the shorter feathers are newer. Here's the explanation: The longer feathers help to give fledglings lift when they are first learning to fly. This is also when they weigh the most (baby-fat) and need the most lift. They then molt in shorter feathers in subsequent years. The shorter feathers give them greater maneuverability in their adult years.
Pam Monahan has a new post of her observations from yesterday of Bald Eagle HK, posted today. She has some (graphic) pictures of HK eating a squirrel and a nice series of him feaking afterward. (Bald Eagles can't use napkins. So when their beaks are messy after eating, they will wipe it off on a branch -- called feaking. This is a fast, kind of swishing motion. This also helps to keep their beaks sharp.)
Bald Eagle NX checked in on January 5th. She has done a little bit of exploring since her last check-in.
The Center for Conservation Biology newsletter is hot off the press. Here's a few interesting items:
- Bald Eagles with transmitters continue to provide valuable information to aid conservation efforts. More than 1,000,000 GPS locations have been provided, indicating which areas are the most important to Bald Eagles. These areas include travel corridors and communal roosts.
- The current irruption of Snowy Owls is explained in this story. Dr. Bryan Watts flew a survey with Dr. Mitchell Byrd to look for the owls and reports his findings.
- Dr. Watts is quoted in this USA Today article about the impact of this week's freezing temperatures on birds.
- Two Whimbrels (Machi and Goshen) that CCB had tracked via transmitters survived an encounter with Hurricane Irene during their fall migration only to be killed by hunters when they reached their winter home on Guadeloupe. This tragic event has been a catalyst for change via increased awareness of shorebird hunting and new regulations governing the hunting of shorebirds.
- Dr Watts is quoted in this Richmond Times-Dispatch article about the come-back of the Great Blue Heron.
More tomorrow...
Pam Monahan has a couple of new blog posts about her observations of Bald Eagle HK. On 1/3 she got pics of HK and the banded female. Then on 1/4 she got a nice series of pics of HK. I anticipate fireworks when the Osprey try to return to their nest...
Project SNOWstorm is a research effort to learn more about the Snowy Owls that have ventured south this winter. This is the biggest event of this nature in decades!
The rover team has found an ancient lake on Mars that could have held life. They don't mean the "we come in peace"-shake-your-hand kind of life, but the microbial kind. But still...
DiGiorno dumps cheese supplier after shown an undercover video of how the cows are treated. The video is included. Don't watch it if you are sensitive. The story says the video contains "alleged abuse" of the animals. I guess they have to use the word "alleged" for legal reasons... I'm glad that DiGiorno did the right thing!
Sometimes, organic is better for you than regular. So is the case with organic milk. And if you are still going to stay with regular milk, whole milk is better for you than reduced fat or skim milk. I have been using 2% for years, but am rethinking that now...
Wouldn't you think there should be mountains of dinosaur poop? Scientists think that they can now answer that burning question: Where is all of the dinosaur poop? -- thanks to a cockroach that perished mid-poop and was preserved in amber.
Speaking of cockroaches... Cold-weather cockroaches have been found in New York.
I want to thank everyone that follows my blog. We hit 10,000 page views today!
It's that time of year when people are looking to dispose of their Christmas trees. Here are some alternatives to the landfill. In Hampton, they can also be set out at the curb for recycling.
Eagle Watch Week is on in Mineral Ridge, Idaho.
Duane Noblick posted more pictures of Snowy Owls on the Norfolk Eagles Forum. He takes such awesome pictures and these owls are so pretty!
I think that a rehabilitated Bald Eagle will be released back into the wild in Front Royal, VA on New Years Day. Here's the story. Make sure you click the link for the rehabber's web site. There is conflicting release info...
I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! Wishing blessings to all in the New Year!
Bald Eagle NX checked in on Christmas day. She is 14 miles away from her 12/14 check-in.
Pam Monahan had a visit with Bald Eagle HK and got pictures of mating or bonding... Check out her blog entry...
The Northeast Florida and Southwest Florida Bald Eagle nests both have two hatchlings now. And so it begins again!
Duane Noblick got some really great pictures of a Snowy Owl. So pretty!
Reese has a blog entry about a recent trip to Botswana.
Something is killing Bald Eagles in Utah. Scientists think it is a disease as opposed to a toxin.
I haven't looked at Ron Dudley's Feathered Photography blog recently. Here are some interesting posts:
