The Hays nest only has two eaglets in it now. One of them fledged today. Here's a video of the fledge. About halfway through the video, it looks like it took off, but it was only on a branch to the right. Then eventually, it actually took off. Here's a facebook page with some great pictures of the youngster in flight. Here are some s'caps of the two that are still in the nest, or in this case, one in the nest and one hiding behind a branch:
Zoomer brought us in close se we could see a talon. (Look at the 6 o'clock position a little up from the bottom):
Peek-a-boo!
I see a little more. This eaglet is playing with us!
Definitely playing with us!
That's a little better...
The parent did a food delivery and got the heck out of the way. The victor is mantling over the food while the loser looks on.
"Are you gonna eat all of that?"
Not a lot of food with this delivery. No sharing this time.
The loser tries to crowd in for a bite, but is unsuccessful.
Searching for any leftovers...
And back up on the branch. Someone in chat today said that this is a cherry tree. I could see while zoomer was panning around that it is huge!
I got some far away s'caps of the White Rock nest from the wide-angle cam. But there's no detail. Grrr... It looks like there are eaglets in the nest... Brown blobs...
Looks like one of the brown blobs is making self-feeding motions.
One of the brown blobs has wings...
There was a live stream discussion at the nest with Christian Sasse again tonight. This is the only way to get a close-up view of this nest now that the close-up cam is out-of-commission... But darn that branch that's in the way!
I see a little bit of beak! But that is all I was able to get...
The Berry College Bluebirds are too cute! It has finally cooled off and they actually slept today! Their feathers are coming in real nice.
I love how the feathers come in in perfect little rows.
The black fluff are where the feathers are starting to emerge from the shafts. They will unfurl into perfect feathers.
Hungry babies!
They all finally got enough to eat and fell asleep. This was the first time I have seen them all stay still for longer than a few seconds. They stayed like this for a while! I don't think the one realizes it's on the wrong end of its three siblings...
Then they all faced the same direction.
Then they all shifted and are still all facing in the same direction. It's just a different direction...
Cut to a few hours later and I see more feather growth!
They are never satisfied. I saw one baby get fed consecutive times today and it still had its mouth open for the next bite!
There is trouble at a nest that I don't regularly watch. There has been a shortage of food at the Maine nest. These two eaglets are just over 8 weeks old and have gotten through those harmless early days of picking on each other. What's happening now is not harmless -- they are big enough to inflict real damage on each other. Food is scarce at this nest and the survival instinct has kicked in. The larger eaglet has been getting the majority of the food, which really works against the smaller eaglet in two ways. It increases their size difference, plus, the smaller eaglet becomes weaker. Earlier today, the larger eaglet was trying to push the smaller one out of the nest. I've never seen this before. Here's a link to the video. When that didn't work, the larger eaglet went on the attack. I know this is hard for the people that follow and love this nest. But this is what is meant by survival of the fittest. It is a matter of survival of the species when food is scarce for at least the strongest to survive. I hope they get a food delivery and the little one makes it. But if not, that's nature -- it's just not always easy to watch. I couldn't help but feel sorry for the smaller one and feel hopeful when it seemed to be holding its own. Here are a couple of videos. The first one is of the fight between the two eaglets. It is an abbreviated video of the attack, but it is still pretty brutal. Don't watch it if you are sensitive... The second video shows the smaller eaglet getting up a couple of hours after the attack. I don't know how the smaller eaglet survived the attack or what kind of shape it's in. It doesn't look to be doing very well. So sad to see this... I hope they get some food and the little one makes it. No matter which way this goes, try not to have harsh feelings toward the larger eaglet. They are both just very hungry and are acting according to their nature.
I want to end my nest cam round-up on a better note. I don't usually watch the Decorah nest either. Good news for them: the third eaglet at that nest fledged today. On a side note: I have seen a lot of chat room discussion that people are happy that the Decorah eaglets have all fledged so they can get away from the "gnats" that have been bothering them. Unfortunately, those aren't gnats. They are lice. And they took them with them when they left... Here's a video of today's fledge.
Bald Eagle Camellia checked in today.
Happy American Eagle Day!
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