The Berry College Eagles are on egg watch. Tomorrow will be three days since the first egg was laid. So, if they are going to have a second egg (which is most likely) it will be laid tomorrow. Pam Monahan has three new posts for Bald Eagle HK out at Honey Bee Golf Course: 1/3/16 - HK has a young visitor 1/4/16 - HK and Sterling 1/6/16 - HK and Sterling The necropsy results are in for Bald Eagle Ozzie, former male resident of the Southwest Florida nest. After reading it, it seems to me that he might have survived if he'd gotten treatment sooner. If you are aware of injured wildlife, please contact your state's wildlife officials right away. You can click this link to read the necropsy results.
There is a Loch of the Lowes Osprey tracking update for FR3 and FR4. FR4 hasn't reported since 12/21. There is an Osprey team in the area and they may be able to do a search...
The White-bellied Sea Eaglet SE15 is not doing too well. His blood work has come back in. He has an infection and is being treated with antibiotics in the ICU of the zoo. They give him a 50/50 chance of survival. They are also studying his feathers to determine why they didn't come in right. One of the followers of this nest put together a nice montage.
We are still waiting on necropsy results for Bald Eagle Ozzie, of the Southwest Florida nest.
I am sorry to tell you that Bald Eagle Ozzie passed away last night. Here is what the animal hospital CROW posted on their site:
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Ozzie, the bald eagle, co-star of the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam. Ozzie passed away last night at CROW due to complications from his recent injuries that included multiple severe lacerations and a broken toe in each foot. Ozzie was brought to CROW for a second time on Sunday, September 27, after he was found weak and injured in a North Fort Myers backyard. He arrived at CROW late at night in critical condition, unable to stand and fighting septicemia (a bacterial blood infection). It is highly likely these injuries were sustained from a fight with another bald eagle near the nest that was documented on the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam Facebook page. It was also reported that he had been entangled in barbwire.
A necropsy will be performed on Ozzie at the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study (SCWDS) at The University of Georgia and we will share those results with you when they become available. We would like to thank everyone for their support and unwavering belief in CROW during Ozzie’s rehabilitation and recent stay. Your endless words of encouragement carried the CROW staff through challenging times.
Here is a link to a USA Today story about Ozzie's passing. And here's another link to check out, pictures and videos. I suppose M15 will take over the territory now and will become Harriet's mate. I know this is difficult news to all who loved Ozzie and hoped to see him regain his territory. But try to remember that it's hard being a wild animal, having to be strong and fight for everything. We get a look into their lives -- the joy and the pain. Try to remember the joy that Ozzie brought in the past and look forward to the joy to come as Harriet teaches her new mate. Young Eagles learn what to do by partnering with more experienced Eagles. There are sure to be new things to observe from the nest for a first time Dad learning the ropes. And please don't feel silly for mourning this loss. Many of you have spent every day during the nesting season watching this nest. It's ok to love these Eagles and it's ok to mourn their loss. There is an entire community of people that understand and feel the same.
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The Harrison Bay Eagle nest doesn't have so much grass growing in it now that Elliot and Eloise are doing nestorations. They are digging in the nest with their beaks and bringing sticks to the nest, destroying the grass.
It looks like they are going to spend the night again in the tall pine.
It was a fun morning to watch the White-bellied Sea Eagle nest. Here's a few s'caps from the video, included below. SE15 is showing off his wingspan.
SE16 has spotted something overhead while SE15 enjoys breakfast.
SE15 is turning her head to get a better view of whatever is above her.
Then she gets a better look at breakfast.
Something has caught both chicks attention.
SE15 is almost doing a head stand, peering at something...
Here's a half hour video of feeding, wingercizing, preening, stretching, and turning their heads sideways to see better. (I love it when they do that!) It starts in black and white until the IR Cam turns off. Good Morning (30:16):
Bald Eagle Ozzie, the male resident of the Southwest Florida nest, has been scrapping with M15, who is trying to become the resident male. Ozzie is back in the hospital with a broken toe on each foot and various other injuries. No other breaks though. I fear that he may lose his territory if he is kept away from the nest for another extended period of time. Here's a link to CROW's web site, the animal hospital where he is getting treatment.
I was hoping for a better view of the Harrison Bay Eagles than just this shot of one of the Eagles in the big pine.
I got my wish with first one in the nest tree...
...then both in the nest and working together (?) to do some nestorations.
Here's a video of the evening's nestorations (7:36):
The White-bellied Sea Eagle chicks come to the food now.
They are both filling out nicely.
Zoomer gave us some nice close-ups of the chicks.
What a pretty face. I can see why the adults are so beautiful!
I thought they were so cute, peeking out through the branches.
Peek-a-boo! SE15 is almost completely blocked by SE16.
I had a lot of cloud cover last night, so I only got a few pictures of last night's Super Moon Lunar Eclipse toward the end of the event:
I only got a few brief glimpses of it while it was red, and there were so many clouds I couldn't get any pictures during that phase. So check out this slide show of last night's Super Moon Lunar Eclipse.
The Harrison Bay Eagles are starting to work on the nest bowl, laying in the center of the nest.
There's still a lot of grass growing in the nest...
The grass will get buried under clumps of soft grass that they will bring to the nest.
They shape the nest bowl and prepare it for eggs by laying in the nest while doing nestorations.
Here's an animated gif of a grand entrance this evening. Look at about 8 o'clock and you can see a white streak (way back) moving left to right. Then, LOOK OUT!
The White-bellied Sea Eagle chicks get up at dawn.
They patiently wait for breakfast.
The chicks are at the scary stage where they still aren't too steady on their feet. But they already like to go to the edge of the nest...
...then despite not being too steady, they start wingercizing like crazy.
This seems to be the standard position for feeding.
Here's an animated gif of a special moment at the White-bellied Sea Eagle nest. Bulls-eye!
Finally! Some new pictures of the Africam Black Eagle Fledgling Kendi! Click the link, and after the page fully loads, you can click on the main picture to make it bigger, then you can hover over the picture and see arrows at the edges to see all of the pictures. Kendi looks fantastic! I love the one where she's flying toward 7 o'clock. With her wings and tail spread out. So pretty. They've also updated their blog. There's also some pictures there!
Bald Eagle Ozzie hasn't been seen again with Harriet (the female resident) at the Southwest Florida nest. But FV/PB/M15 has been seen with her. Here's the deal with the name of the new fella. The male that moved into the territory in Ozzie's absence was first called Frequent Visitor (FV). He was also called Pretty Boy (PB). But now they have settled on Male 2015 (M15) which is more in line with how a lot of nests are naming their offspring.
The Harrison Bay Eagles were doing some nestorations today. There was a consultation between them...
Mom has a dirty beak from digging in the nest.
Thanks Zoomer for the nice close-up of Mom!
Pretty!
The White-bellied Sea Eagle chicks are feathering out nicely. SE15 on the left has less tail feathers still.
Here's SE16's tail feathers.
SE15 was doing some wingercizing...
...then turned around and showed us the view from the back.
The parents are still bringing sticks to the nest.
Here's the front view of the feathers coming in.
The Southwest Florida Eagle nest's resident male Ozzie has returned to the nest and is fighting FV (Frequent Visitor) to regain his territory. Ozzie was injured toward the end of their nesting season and FV moved in while he was being treated. Ozzie has been injured, losing a talon in aerial combat with FV. There's no telling how long they will battle before one gives up and leaves or is seriously injured. I hope they sort it out without any bad injuries. Here's a link to an article with pictures.
Bald Eagle Ozzie of the Southwest Florida nest was released back into the wild today! There's tons of news stories, I like this one. There are two nice videos embedding into the story. CROW also put a video of Ozzie's Release on YouTube.
Mom was being stingy with the baby at the Africam Black Eagle nest this morning.
Dad Dyfi Osprey brought a nice size piece of lumber to the nest. Time to build up those guard rails!
This is not what I consider "wings up" at the Harrison Bay Eagle nest...
You know these babies are getting plenty to eat when this big fish can lay in the nest and both Eaglets, who were in the branches, leave it alone.
Bald eagles relax and/or spread their wings and pant to cool off.
One of the parents came to the nest and polished off some nestovers.
This is not "wings up" either, just wingercizing.
Finally got a s'cap with both babies in it!
Hot baby! Pretty s'cap!
Both babies are perched on the same branch. The cam can only look so far up before the housing cuts off the view. This is about as good as it gets when they perch in the higher branches... This is the branch they were on when it got dark.
The Dad at the Scottish Wildlife Trust's Loch of the Lowes Osprey nest demonstrates just how easy it is for Osprey to take-off. Bald Eagles have to bend at the knees and launch themselves into the air. The Osprey just put their wings up...
...and with a downward flap, they are airborne.
Dad is crowding Mom a bit. But she didn't even bother to put down her other foot, just ducking as he took off.
Then straightening back up while still standing on one foot.
You can tell by the feathers coming in that the youngest is farthest from the cam, while the oldest is closest to the cam. The lighter tips on the youngsters is how you can continue to tell the parents from the kids after they reach full size. Those lighter tips will eventually wear off and they will have the same uniform brown as the parents. But that won't happen for a while.
Look at the tail feathers coming in on the oldest Osplet.
The babies make a puddle in the middle of the nest. You can see how their coloring provides them protection from predators. They just blend into their surroundings. (An all-brown Bald Eagle juvenile is pretty well camouflaged too! I can't tell you now many times I've gone to an area where Bald Eagles hang out and someone will point out where an Eagle is perched. And I'll still have a hard time finding it!)
The chicks got dinner before being tucked in for the night.
Last call for potty break!
Everyone must be full. Mom was ready to feed some more, but one-by-one they all laid back down.
Mom does some feaking on the crib rails to clean her beak off.
This is Dad leaving with the nestovers. There was a lot of fish left-over!
Mom settles in for the night, making herself as big as possible in an attempt to cover her babies. Her wings are out from her body and her head is bent protectively over one of the chicks.
