Berry College Bald Eagle Chick Day 17 and 18, Sub-adult Intruder at the Berry College Bald Eagle Nest, Berry College Videos of Sub-adult, Mom Nipped at Eaglet, and Mom Gets Blown Around Again, Bald Eagle Camellia Checked In.

Yesterday, March 11th, was day 17 for the Berry College Bald Eagle chick. It was a perfect day for the chick to venture out of the nest bowl and explore the nest:

The chick wanted to get right into the action when it came to food:

Look at those feet! Their feet are the first thing to grow to full size. Still has a way to go though... And still very interested in the food!

The baby will progress to where it is "walking" while in the position in the picture just above. Then it will finally stand on its feet. At this point, it will be able to learn to stand on its food and tear pieces off. Until then, it will still need to be fed.

Today, March 12th, was day 18 for the Berry chick. And it was a day of drama! It started off nice enough with the baby staying warm under Mom:

Then there was a lesson on removing feathers from a coot before eating it:

Mom had just settled in to brood so I was surprised to see her standing up and bent over the baby. The screen captures and explanations of Mom Berry protecting the eaglet were taken between 11:12 and 11:34AM.

I'm wondering, "What in the world is she doing?" The she took a step toward the baby and spread her wings a little more. You could tell she was distracted when she was moving toward the eaglet. She wasn't watching where she was stepping and is actually stepping on the baby here. But she didn't realize it:

She spread her wings more, providing more protection to the baby. But she adjusted her stance too, now stepping on the baby's neck. That's her bad leg. No telling how much weight she is putting on it:

She stayed like this for what felt like an eternity. In my head was the chant, "Get off the baby. Get of the baby." Over and over again. And finally she moved and the baby's head came up:

She kept throwing her wings out to protect the baby:

 She was calling and calling for her mate to come to the nest to help her.

This whole time I had been worried about the baby since she had been stepping on it. But here I see it raise its head again. (I'm still worried about the baby -- not sure if her talons left any punctures. I'll feel better once some time has gone by...)

Mom Berry kept this protective stance and continued to call out for her mate. I figured he must be out foraging to not hear her calls. Every time she readjusted her protective stance, I took a s'cap:

 

 By degrees, she relaxed her stance a bit, but continued calling to her mate.

She stayed in a protective posture until 12:26. I didn't know what had happened. I thought an intruder was flying around the nest. But it turns out that a sub-adult was perched in the tree above the nest. There is food in the nest and it may have been hungry. It makes perfect sense that Mom Berry was being so protective! Bald Eagles will attack (and eat) other Bald Eagle's chicks...

Dad Berry finally came home. His return scared off the intruder. At one point, he brought a fish with him, but I'm not sure of the timeline... (Today, I've seen Coot, Squirrel, and Fish on the menu at this nest.)

It takes a lot of feedings to grow into a Bald Eagle!

Mom's foot sticks out to the side... I figure her leg is broken. I'm so glad that the sub-adult didn't come down into the nest. Fighting Bald Eagles usually use their talons -- Mom Berry would have been at a distinct disadvantage... And it would have exacerbated her injury, just when it seems she is moving better.

OK. That's the end of my s'caps from yesterday and today. Sorry if it was too many... But this went on for over an hour! Here is a link to a video of some of what happened today, 18:23 minutes of it. This video shows the intruder in the nest tree. And it shows Mom Berry stepping on the chick. (I wonder if she has lost some feeling in that foot due to the injury...) Note that the sound you hear in this video is from a different camera that was playing while this video was being taken.

I wanted to point out another Berry College nest video. Mom Berry nipped at the baby. I don't know why. I speculate that maybe her injury caused a pain and she thought the baby did something. She definitely seems to be correcting the chick...

Another Mom Berry video. When will she learn to not put her back to the wind? (This video also has a poop shot from Mom and then one from the eaglet.)

Bald Eagle Camellia has checked in. Talk about touring around the area! I'm tired just looking at his travels...