Nest Cam Round-up: Hays, Two Harbors, White Rock, Berry College Bluebird, White-bellied Sea Eagle, Africam Black Eagle, and Dyfi Osprey, Bald Eagle Camellia Check In, and Bald Eagle MR Fledged & Received Her New Name!

From the Hays nest tonight, sing it with me, "Rock-a-bye baby, in the treetop..."

I found the Two Harbors fledgling K43 at home tonight.

The folks at the White Rock nest are reporting that one of the eaglets branched today! I didn't get to see that though. But there was a parent on the branch today.

There was a crow that kept buzzing the nest. You can see it here as it flew past. It's obscured a bit by the branch. The adult is looking at it...

It even perched near the nest.

Then, when it took off, it buzzed the nest and flew toward the camera. The adult is yelling at it...

The Berry Bluebirds are big enough now that they are mobile within their nest box. When I first brought up the cam, only 3 were visible. Their feathers are coming in with a mohawk pattern down their backs. Their eyes are opening.

Look at that little face!

Then, only two were visible...

This baby is huge compared to the other two in this s'cap and it was being a bit of a bully...

Here's a good look at the mohawk back.

Finally, all 4 in one s'cap.

This is as good as the s'cap of wingercizing gets...

Here's another look at the size difference between the biggest and smallest.

Look at those pin feathers!

I mentioned yesterday the White-bellied Sea Eagle nest. I haven't found anyone home yet, but here's a s'cap of the nest. There's a nice view of the nest from this cam... I can't wait to find someone home. These eagles are very white...

I had some time at home this morning and checked out the Africam Black Eagle cam. These eagles are very black... Black Eagles lay two eggs to hedge their bets, ensuring that they get at least one hatch. They aren't interested in raising two chicks, so they begin incubation immediately. This gives the first hatch a big size advantage over its sibling, who hatches three days later. Siblicide is the norm with Black Eagles. It is estimated that only 2.5% of second hatches live to fledge. This nest has just experienced siblicide, increasing the chance of survival for the remaining chick.

Both parents came to the nest.

"Here's looking at you, kid..." And look at those fuzzy legs!

In yesterday's blog post, I asked for suggestions for a nest to watch. Someone (anonymous) left a comment about the Dyfi Osprey nest. I was bummed that the Loch of the Lowes Osprey nest didn't get a hatch this year. So this nest is perfect! This nest is also in Great Britain. I've marked on this map where the two nests are. The Loch of the Lowes nest is the one toward the north and the Dyfi nest is toward the southwest. (I spent two years on the northern edge of Scotland -- in Thurso, Scotland. The U.S. Navy had a communication station there. Where that yellow line ends in the north... That's the road to Thurso!)

Here's some s'caps from the (official title here with link) Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust's Dyfi Osprey Project nest. When I first brought up the cam tonight, the IR cam was on. No parent was on the nest and there's a puddle of fluff in the nest.

I checked back 15 minutes later and found an adult brooding the babies.

And in the next blink, the IR switched off. Pretty! And look, a fish! (I didn't even notice it under the black and white IR cam.) This cam has such a great picture, check out these short videos from hatch 1 on June 8th and hatch 2 on June 11th. I have never seen such great footage of a hatch!

Bald Eagle Camellia checked in.

 

Bald Eagle MR fledged and has been named Grace. Bald Eagles that have been fitted with transmitters are available for adoption. The money goes to the Center for Conservation Biology to help defray the costs associated with transmittering and tracking Bald Eagles along with other conservation projects. (Your contribution is also tax deductible.) Being able to track Bald Eagles provides important information about habitat use so biologists will know where to focus their conservation efforts. Reese gives the link to the adoption page if you follow my link above to his blog post about Grace.