The Berry College Eagles are in their growth spurt! Look at this wing span -- I'm thinking it's as wide as the nest, about 5 feet!
I caught a family moment at the Harrison Bay nest. Dad dropped by for a meal. And Mom joined him in the dining area. And the babies didn't get any! Not to worry, they are getting plenty to eat. I captured a video, and it's all about sound (11:20): Dad landing near the nest, then in the nest, Dad eating, Mom eating, and there's even an audible poop shoot. There's also some beaking between the two siblings, with smaller HB8 sometimes being the aggressor. Here's some stills from the video:
Their heads look almost the same size in the above s'cap. But look at the difference in the size of their bodies. That's what a 2 day head start gets a hatchling:
All eyes are on Mom!
I had a calendar reminder pop up to check the Africam Black Eagle nest. And look at what I found the first time I brought it up this nesting season:
I lurked in the chat room for a few minutes and learned that this is Mom and that they put in a new camera this year. The picture does look nice and clear. They have always had sound. There is a nearby waterfall that can be heard. We should have two eggs by mid-April to early May. Typically for these eagles, if both eggs hatch, the older chick will commit siblicide. It can be hard to watch, so be aware of that if you choose to watch this nest. Laying two eggs is how this species ensures that they have at least one chick to raise. And siblicide is how this species ensures that they only have one chick to which they can dedicate all of their resources. It's in their nature. Very rarely do Black Eagles fledge two chicks from a nest... It's easier on viewers if only one egg hatches. So, that's what you hope for if you watch this nest. You can watch them here. I'm not sure if they are only streaming during certain times like they did in past years or if they will go 24/7 with the new cam. I just went to the site to see if I could figure out what the time difference is and when they stream. I didn't figure it out, but it is sunrise there now (and midnight on the east coast)... Here's the male perched on the cliff. I assume they panned over to him. Looking at the white-wash, I'd guess the nest or a perch is up to the right.
There was much drama just now at the Hays nest. One of the eaglets that hasn't fledged yet was jumping down from a branch into the nest, hit a branch and fell past the nest. Here's a video of the fall. The eaglet is on a branch above the nest right in the center. It fell at time stamp 20:45:59. This happened when it was starting to get dark. There wasn't enough light for anyone on the ground to try to spot the eaglet. I hope it's ok. Here's a s'cap of the third eaglet still in the nest. It was looking over the edge (at the sibling that fell?)
I caught Christian Sasse doing another live broadcast at the White Rock nest today. We were treated to some great close-ups of one of the eaglets!
I still like the wide angle because of the beautiful scenery.
Wingercizing:
One of the Decorah fledglings was found in the middle of the street today and did not try to fly away from people. The folks from the Raptor Resource Project were able to capture it and are holding it overnight for observation. I hope they treat it for lice!
The news at the Maine nest is not good. The little eaglet died overnight. (If you aren't familiar with what happened, you can read my blog post from yesterday.) This morning, the bigger eaglet was calling for its parents. When they didn't come, it tried to eat the sibling. I think it was getting small bites, but it doesn't know how to defeather a bird yet. One of the parents came to the nest and was removing its feathers when suddenly it left. Later in the day, after having left my computer, I came back to find it frozen with a parent on the nest. But I don't know what occurred during that visit... But it is good news that at least one parent is coming to the nest more often now. And I believe the eaglet was fed today. There is no doubt that this is a sad situation. But there is hope for this nest. The dead sibling will now provide much needed food for the remaining sibling, giving hope that it will survive the food shortage that caused the siblicide. I know this is hard in general and heartbreaking for the people that follow this nest. But these parents will be better able to provide for one eaglet and hopefully we will see it fledge. Here's a s'cap of the surviving eaglet from today:
A parent is preparing to feed the eaglet, who is "squeeeing" in anticipation:
I got some s'caps of the Berry College Bluebirds this morning. Good thing since the cam is down now... I see that their eyes are starting to open! And look at those feathers! They are starting to look like birds!
It looks like their eyes are more open when they think food is coming (above) then when they don't (below). Or maybe it's just that they present a different angle of their faces to the cam when they think there's food coming...
