Harrison Bay Eagles Second Hatch!, Bald Eagles HK And Sterling Updates, White-bellied Sea Eagles Female Resident Missing, Loch of the Lowes Osprey Tracking Update, Dyfi Osprey Project Update and Fundraising

The second egg hatched today at the Harrison Bay Eagle nest, 21 hours after the first hatch! This is our first look at the newest hatchling. HB9, who hatched yesterday, is on the left. HB10 is on the right.

HB9 is already showing curiosity about the world around him/her. HB10 is to the right, down in the soft grass.

They both perked up for food, but I don't know if any of the bites hit their target.

This is only two hours after HB10 (on the right) hatched! What a strong baby!

There are some updates on Bald Eagles HK and Sterling at their territory at the Honey Bee Golf Course:
2/28 HK & Sterling at the cell tower
2/29 HK & Sterling at the nest
3/2 HK & Sterling at the nest and surrounding area
3/3 HK & Sterling at the nest again!
I wonder if they are around the nest so much because Sterling is feeling eggy...

The White-bellied Sea Eagle resident female hasn't been seen for two weeks, which is unusual. They are asking people to report any sightings.

There is a Loch of the Lowes Osprey tracking update, with recent pictures of FR3.

The Dyfi Osprey Project has an update on their preparations for the next nesting season and they are raising funds to help pay for the equipment and streaming. Please consider a donation if you enjoy the Dyfi Osprey!

Harrison Bay Eagles Hatch and Pip!

One chick has hatched and the other is on its way at the Harrison Bay Eagle nest! The first peek was at 7:29PM this evening. The arrow points at the wing sticking out.

Here's an animated gif of the first peek. You can see the wing moving:

Here's a good look at the baby. This is about as good as it gets at night, between Mom incubating and the infrared light...

Here's the baby's back as Mom removes the shell from the nest bowl:

There was a pip in the second egg today, so we'll probably see another hatch tomorrow!

Harrison Bay Eagles Pip!

The hatch has finally started at the Harrison Bay Eagle nest. I've circled the pip that's visible for just a moment during this egg roll. You can also hear the chick peeping when Mom gets up.

Berry College Eagles: A Well Stocked Pantry!, Bald Eagle HK, Sterling, And Visitors, Harrison Bay Eagles Getting Ready For Hatch Watch

I grabbed some nest footage a few days ago and never got it posted. And now it's old news... But I'm still going to post this one shot that shows how well the Berry College pantry is stocked. I see 6 whole and partial fish and a coot!

Pam Monahan has been spending some time out at Honey Bell Golf Course, documenting the life of Bald Eagle HK.

On 2/25, HK had 4 visitors to his territory, from juvenile to adult.

On 2/26, HK and Sterling were both in the area.

On 2/27, HK and a sub-adult were at the nest.

Nests are attractive to other Eagles since they can be a source of food: eggs and babies that are left unattended as well as pantry items (such as in the Berry College nest above) can all provide food.

Get ready for hatch watch at Harrison Bay! We will be in the hatch window this week! I'm going to start watching tomorrow, but it may be another day before we see signs of hatching.

Berry College Eagles Day 4&5 Some Sibling Rivalry, Harrison Bay Eagles Incubation Continues, Northeast Florida Eagles Day 57&59 Getting Big, Southwest Florida Eagles Day 23&24 Bood-ends, Bald Eagle HK

I made the rounds of a few cams today. The Berry College pantry is well stocked!

Mom fed for a while, then finally offered some pieces to the chicks. But she was so far away, they couldn't reach. She eventually stepped closer with some bites for the chicks.

One of the chicks was trying so hard to climb out of the nest bowl to get some food. The other chick kept grabbing its butt! (A little sibling rivalry, but no harm done.) Check out I'm Trying To Climb Out & You're Not Helping! (2:32)

Technically, Harrison Bay Eagles will be in hatch watch in a week and a half. But I'm thinking we won't see a hatch for almost two weeks...

The Northeast Florida Eaglets are so big already! They are almost two months old. They must be getting plenty of food, neither seemed interested in feeding and the parent was left to eat in peace.

The Southwest Florida Eaglets were like book-ends in the nest.

There's a new post today for Bald Eagle HK. I am so hoping for an egg this year!

Berry College Eagles Incubating, Harrison Bay Eagles Incubating, Northeast Florida Eagles Day 45&47, Southwest Florida Eagles Day 11&12 Wingercizing, Upper Mississippi River Eagles Incubating and Mating Video

I did a tour of the nests that I follow. Here's what's happening:

Berry College Eagles continue to incubate their two eggs. Today is day 28 and 31 since the eggs were laid. Expect hatch watch to start when the first laid egg is at day 33, but with delayed incubation I wouldn't really expect to see a hatch until day 34 or 35...

The Harrison Bay Eagles have only been incubating their two eggs a little over a week. So, they still have a while to go... 

The Northeast Florida Eaglets are growing in their feathers.

They are wingercizing now.

I caught the family together at the Southwest Florida nest. Dad brought in some soft grass and placed it between him and Mom.

It rained later in the day, and Mom-brella kept the babies dry.

It is so hard to see any eggs at the Upper Mississippi River nest. I caught a nest exchange, but still couldn't see anything. I think they have 2 eggs. If they will lay a third, it will be tomorrow.

This is the best shot of any possible eggs after recording this nest for about 5 hours today. It looks like one egg is visible. There was a point today when no eagles were on the nest, and no eggs could be seen... It must be a deep nest bowl. Maybe they will position the camera better next year...

I did find a video that the Stewards posted of mating at this nest. I wondered if there was competition between the two males to father the babies and found out that there is. Check out this video.

Southwest Florida Eagles Day 5&6 Smack-down, Berry College Eagles Still Incubating, Harrison Bay Eagles Dangerous Moves, Northeast Florida Eagles Day 39&41, Upper Mississippi River Eagle Trio Sharing Food, Africam Black Eagles Storm Damage

The Southwest Florida Eaglets are growing like weeds, both having fat crops. This looks like piggy-back rides.

There is still some sibling rivalry happening. Here's a gif from today. I like how the one in front taps the mat three times to be let go!

The Berry College Eagles are still tending two eggs. We have about another week before hatch watch starts.

I put together a gif of Dad Harrison Bay Bald Eagle being dangerous! This is 38 stills. He arrived at the nest with a huge piece of lumber. Huge! And he was trying to lift it while standing on in and while straddling it. Which was funny. After that, he dragged it across Mom, who left in embarrassment. Which caused the limb to drop into the nest bowl. Dad then drops the limb several times across the nest bowl. He leaves it alone at one point and incubates for a bit. (This is when the camera angle changes.) Then he got back up to move it again, almost stepping on the eggs! It was a nail biter. I remember a nest where one of the parents dragged a frozen rabbit across the eggs and broke at least one of the eggs. So, what Dad is doing here is pretty dangerous!

And here's a s'cap of the Harrison Bay eggs, zoomed in on during all this commotion:

It looked like a peaceful day at the Northeast Florida Eagle nest:

I found the Upper Mississippi River Eagle trio at the nest today. I have 18 s'caps that I wanted to share, so I just turned them into a gif... First, one of them landed in the nest with a fish, ate some of it, then waited to see if anyone else was interested. Soon, a second Eagle landed and had some fish. After the fish was gone, two stayed around looking for crumbs. Eventually, they all departed. (Don't miss, you can see the third Eagle fly behind the nest as it approaches.)

One of the trio is sleeping in the nest again tonight. Maybe we will see an egg soon!

There's a bit of a disaster at the Africam Black Eagle nest. Remember the big storm on January 9th? Well, the nest did not escape unscathed. A lot of the nest is gone and what remains has slid down the cliff face. Here's a picture showing the comparison. Looking at the pictures, I can't even figure out what was holding the nest in place, so I guess it was just a matter of time... Hopefully, the Black Eagles will rebuild and we'll have a camera on the nest. They have been seen recently carrying sticks. But I don't know where they are going with them.

Harrison Bay Eagles Second Egg, Africam Black Eagles Picture

Congratulations to the Harrison Bay Eagles on the laying of their second egg. If they are going to lay a third egg, it will be on Tuesday, February 2nd. (By the way, she is two for two sneezing right before laying an egg...) Here's my s'caps from today:

You can tell that she is laying an egg here from her hunch-backed posture and her feathers are standing up on her back.

You can see how much her feathers are standing up, having just laid the egg.

We get a quick glimpse of the eggs here.


Then after resting for a few minutes, we get a better look. Beautiful! I wonder if we will see a third egg this year?

Here's a video of the big event. Second Egg (11:58).

Check out this picture one of the Africam Black Eagles carrying a tortoise. While you are there, click through the other pictures.

Harrison Bay Eagles, Northeast Florida Eagles Day 37&39, Southwest Florida Eagles Day 3&4 Fresh Fish & Sibling Rivalry, Upper Mississippi River Eagles, Loch of the Lowes Tracking Update

I made the rounds at a bunch of nests today. Here's some s'caps:

I caught a nest exchange at the Harrison Bay nest. This is Dad leaving.

The Northeast Florida Eaglets are growing by the day. Look at those feet!

Zoomer read my mind. Look at that foot!!

Dad brought a live fish to the nest today at the Southwest Florida nest.

As soon as the fish felt Dad hop away, it began to flop around, trying to escape. Mom got to the fish first. But look in the upper left hand corner of this s'cap. Dad was coming right back to get it.

I observed some sibling rivalry a the nest today too. Since the food is plentiful at this nest, it should subside soon. Here, one of the babies is putting the smack-down on the other, with a beakful of neck.

I put together a video from the Southwest Florida nest today. Fresh Fish & Sibling Rivalry (6:50).

One of the Upper Mississippi River trio was laying in the nest again today, forming the nest bowl. I think we may see an egg here soon... There is no information on their site regarding what date eggs were laid last year. So, we can only guess by their behavior...

There is a tracking update for the Loch of the Lowes Osprey.

Southwest Florida Eagles Day 1&2 Second Hatch!, Harrison Bay Eagles First Egg Laid!, Bald Eagle ND Photographed!!

Here's my s'caps from today at the Southwest Florida Eagle nest:

That bite is way too big for that baby!

We've had a lot of rain today. Mom is not inclined to get up and expose her hatchling to the rain... Which leaves the viewers to wonder how the hatch is going.

It's hard to tell if that's a crack or debris.

We finally got a little clearing and can see a nice pip.

Dad took a good look at the nest bowl when he got a chance.

So cute. The cam swivels around, sometimes presenting the occupants upside down.

A nice crack has formed in the egg. The fish that is being fed to the baby must be delicious! The parent is drooling all over the baby while trying to get the fish into the baby's mouth. That's a line of drool across the top of the baby's head and there's more drool on its body.

This is the last frame that was in focus when zoomer took us in a little too close. That's the baby's beak showing at the pip hole.

Here's a link to E7's Lunch & E8 Moves Inside Egg (2:57) video.

And E8 did hatch at the Southwest Florida nest tonight. Check out this video E8 Hatches (3:43).

And there's much eggcitement at the Harrison Bay Bald Eagle nest! Their first egg arrived this evening! Last year, they didn't lay the first egg until 2/18. So, this was a surprise! Here's a video First Egg Laid (8:58). If they lay a second egg, it will be on Saturday.

Exciting news! Reese Lukei photographed Bald Eagle ND! He is almost 6 years old and is very handsome! ND hatched from the Norfolk Botanical Garden nest in early February of 2010, from the last brood that Mom Norfolk saw fledge. (She did see three chicks hatch in 2011, but was killed before they fledged.) I believe Reese found him in Virginia Beach -- maybe ND has come home to establish a territory and take a mate! ND's siblings are NC (Camellia - tracked with a transmitter) and NE (infamous for being rescued from the canal). More info is available regarding these eagles, so Google away! Include "Center for Conservation Biology" or "Norfolk Botanical Garden" in your search. And here's one more link, to the last time ND was spotted, a couple of years ago...