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.
Today was day 107 for the Berry College Bald Eagle. I only saw her make a brief stop at the nest today. I have this short video. She is still picking branches that are too small to perch on... Here is a still from the video. She has her back to the cam and is opening up her wings to launch off of the nest.
This is the scene tonight at the Hays nest:
I got some video of the Two Harbors eaglet today. She is fun to watch now that she has discovered the breeze! And this nest has sound: you can hear the rattle of her feathers as she flaps her wings and the crunch of the nest when she lands as she hops about wingercizing. Here's a still from the video:
I got a quick peek at the White Rock nest just now. It seems like at least one of the eaglets is always catching up on its sleep. Growing up into a Bald Eagle is hard work and requires lots of rest!
Mom Berry College Bluebird looks to be asleep tonight:
The Osprey at the Scottish Wildlife Trust's Loch of the Lowes nest continue to incubate even though it is well past the hatch window. Part of observing nests includes watching what happens when things go wrong. The only other time this nest failed, the Osprey didn't give up incubating until day 70 -- that is almost twice the length of time for a hatch to occur. (Today is day 58, so we might still catch them on the nest for quite a few more days.) I'm just glad I was able to take this s'cap. This is such a pretty nest and the picture is so sharp and clear. I like the moss on the branches and the grass growing in the nest. And look at how pretty the individual feather colors are:
Every now and then, Bald Eagle Camellia checks in more often than every three days. This is one of those times. He just checked in yesterday, and then today, a new location was reported. And he has been on the move!
The sibling of Bald Eagle MR fledged today. The story and pictures are at this link.
Today was day 100 for the Berry College Bald Eagle. I was looking forward to marking the milestone and then didn't see anyone at the nest all day. Bummer...
I did visit some other nests. The Two Harbors eaglet is rooted to her usual spot. She is a creature of habit!
It's a lazy day at the White Rock nest. Look at that leg!
These two could be attached at the hip...
Later in the day, one adult is in the nest and the other is perched above. These parents stay pretty close...
The Berry College Bluebird mom was on and off the eggs all day. She just can't sit still for very long.
There is a naming contest for the Virginia Beach Bald Eagle that was recently banded "MR". You can go to this page (scroll toward the bottom) and complete your entry. Then on June 11th, you can vote to help select the winner. This is a female eagle, if that affects your suggested name...
Today is day 88 for the Berry College Bald Eagle. I think she's starting to think about taking the big leap. Finally! I don't have many s'caps tonight, so I'm going to show some of my process. These first three s'caps are basically the same. But I take multiples and then select the best one. (The shadows change as the tree sways in the breeze. And she moves, which changes how she looks.) The beak looks best in the first one. They eye looks best in the third s'cap. The second is just garbage... I'd probably keep the third since there is no eye in the first...
In these two s'caps, I took the first in case that was the best I could get. I prefer at least a profile of the head, so there's really not much about the first s'cap that I like. Then she flapped, and I took the second s'cap. I'd keep the second.
There seems to be a lull in the activity at the Hays nest. The eaglets are mainly eating, sleeping, and growing.
At the Two Harbors nest, the eaglet was in pancake mode.
The White Rock babies are still spending a lot of time sleeping. But I did catch this one just waking up. The sibling stayed in face-plant mode.
I checked on the Peregrine Falcon cam and I felt like, "Where's Waldo" as I searched for the bird... Then, after I spotted it, I said, "Duh!"
Bald Eagle Camellia checked in.
We have a new Bald Eagle with a transmitter! Bald Eagle "MR" is a 7 week old eaglet in a nest in Virginia Beach. CCB did the banding and transmitter fitting yesterday. After the eaglet fledges, her movements will be tracked on CCB's EagleTrak website.
Twizzkid put together a summary of the Q&A session with the doctor treating the Jordon Lake Eaglet on the Eagleholic blog.
