Trouble at the Southwest Florida Bald Eagle Nest, Northwest Florida Nest is on Hatch Watch, Nestoration at Berry College, Charitable Giving

One of the Southwest Florida Bald Eagle parents is having problems balancing. I've seen videos of Bald Eagles suffering from lead poisoning that act like this. Here is a link to a video from today of the nest. It is very hard to see a Bald Eagle struggling like this. The eagle will die if it doesn't receive chelation therapy to remove the lead. (Chelation therapy is where a chemical binds to the lead so it can be eliminated from the body. The Wildlife Center of Virginia has had to treat a lot of birds with chelation therapy. Sometimes it's successful, and sometimes the damage is too great to allow recovery...) The eggs are also in jeopardy due to the unsteady parent. A fall or mis-step can result in a broken egg. Plus, it takes two parents to keep the eggs and young safe while the other hunts and chases off intruders. The odds of this nest having a good outcome if this is lead poisoning is very low. Even if the parent gets treatment, it will leave only one adult to do everything. I've only heard of one nest that succeeded after the loss of one parent. This nest is on hatch watch toward the end of this week. Here's a link to the Southwest Florida cam. You can read my previous posts about lead poisoning in Bald Eagles. Please read these posts and help to educate any hunters among your friends and family!

The Northwest Bald Eagle nest is also on hatch watch. Their eggs were laid three days before the Southwest Florida nest. So, we should see a hatch there this week. Here is a link to the Northwest Florida cam.

There has been a lot of activity at the Berry College Bald Eagle nest, as the parents prepare for eggs. Now is a good time to start watching this nest since the parents are making several stops at the nest every day. They are bringing sticks, soft grasses, and Dad is wooing Mom with food. It's fun to watch them take turns moving the same stick until they are both satisfied with its location. here's a link to the Berry College cam.

I have just made my end of year donations. Please consider these organizations. Donations help them and provide a tax deduction for you. For wildlife, I donate to these organizations and specify that my donation is for the treatment/conservation of Bald Eagles:

• the Center for Conservation Biology
• the Wildlife Center of Virginia
• the non-game program of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries

I also give every year to Heifer. (Chickens, Honey Bees, and shares of Heifers, Pigs, and Water Buffalos are my favorites.) If you are not familiar with them, check out the link above. I love the pay-it-forward aspect!

Berry College Bald Eagle Chick Day 32, Southwest Florida, Hays, White Rock, and Two Harbors Bald Eagle Nests, Bald Eagle Camellia Checked In, Dr. Bryan Watts' Article About Bald Eagle Recovery And Dr. Mitchell A. Byrd

Lots of screen captures today! As always, I'll start with the Berry College nest. Today is day 32 for the eaglet. Here's the s'caps I took just to show the difference in feathers between yesterday and today:

Not the greatest s'cap, but you can see the entire wing edge is dark now.

Growing feathers must itch because there is much preening...

...and scratching going on.

It must have been a chilly day, because Mom and baby were snuggling together quite a bit:

I think Mom was trying to straddle the baby to keep it warm:

She almost fell over here trying to get on top of the chick.

But her efforts did give me my favorite s'cap of the day! How cute is that!

At one point, Mom left the nest, and the baby watched very intently as Mom took off. This is how they learn how to be an eagle:

When Mom returned, it was with a stick that was 4-5 feet long.

This stick got caught under the branch that supports the nest.

She tried and tried to get it to come free.

She did finally get the stick to come loose, but I think the stick was still winning...

She finally settled it on the edge just outside of this other stick that she then adjusted.

I finally got a good s'cap of the Southwest Florida Eaglet today. It still hasn't fledged. What's the rush? It's got a nice view, room service, and adoring public, and a pine cone!

When I checked in at the Northeast Bald Eagle nest, neither of the fledglings were home. And so it goes, the cycle nearing completion at this nest...

Mom Hays always strikes me as looking so fierce! I didn't see any evidence that one of the eggs had hatched:

I got a good look at the White Rock eggs. First Mom looked this way...

...then she looked that way.

And then, tada!

And I saved the baby pics for last! Two Harbors nest only has the one chick this year and it's a cutie! Dad was incubating much of the day. (Dad is K81 and Mom is K82.) He's got a super dirty beak! This is what I first saw when I brought up the cam, perfect timing!

But he soon settled back down to keep the chick warm.

I love this picture!

Listening to his baby, who must have been asking for food...

...because Dad figured it must be time to hop up and feed the baby:

I don't know what the pink thing is that is being fed to the baby, but it looks pretty gross (top right of s'cap)... If that's some kind of fish, I'll pass...

As Dad prepared to settle back down, fluffing the grass and turning this way and that, he gave us a great look at his beautiful feathers:

While turning about, we got this look at the baby.

Then getting ready to get all tucked in:

Zoomer gave us this great close-up:

Dad spots something, giving the eagle eye:

After a little bit, he then begins calling... Because Mom's home! He even looks happy here!

 

We get a peek at the baby during the shift change:

The chick says, "Hi Mom!" as she settles in:

Mom usually takes the overnight shift. Dark out but still early enough to be awake:

Bald Eagle Camellia has checked in.

Dr. Bryan Watts, director of the Center for Conservation Biology, has written an article appearing in Live Science about Dr. Mitchell A. Byrd -- a pioneer in the Bald Eagle recovery effort.

Bald Eagle Camellia's Locations, Pam Monahan's Visits With Bald Eagle HK, Florida Eagle Cams, Berry College Eagle Cam, Ice Tsunami, Earthquake Lights, Wildlife Copter, Shark Rescue, Happy People

Looks like Bald Eagle Camellia's solar battery has gotten a good charge!Reese posted a location map for Camellia yesterday. Then, in a blink, he posted another map today.

Pam Monahan has three new posts for Bald Eagle HK. He looks so much like his dad (Bald Eagle Dad Norfolk)! In her January 5th post, he's in his nest, which is really getting big! (I'm wondering if he's going to try to use the nest that he built or if he's going to try to take over the Osprey nest. In either case, I think he views the Osprey nest as belonging to him. I'm predicting fireworks when the Osprey return.) Pam also got pictures of HK in other places around the golf course. Then in her January 6th post, she got some great pictures of HK in his nest. And then she braved the cold today to go find him again. She got a bunch of pictures of HK flying away today... Thanks Pam! Stay warm HK!

I checked in on the Florida Eagle Cams just now. As I expected, Moms and babies are tucked in for the night:

Southwest Florida Cam (the IR light at this nest is kinda harsh to our eyes - but the Eagles can't see the light at all):

Northeast Florida Cam (yes, that's a baby at 4:00, partially tucked up under Mom. Domestic bliss...):

Same scene at the Berry College nest, just no eggs or babies yet. I love that these eagles spend so much time at the nest. I can usually find someone home!

Here's a couple of natural phenomenon that I've never heard of. The first is 'ice tsunami' -- check out this video. This video hasn't been sped up. Mother nature was not joking around! And then there's 'earthquake lights' which are flashes of light that happen near rifts. They occur during or even days before an earthquake.

Time to get on my soap box. This guy built a remote controlled flying copter that he then used to photograph and capture video of animals in the wild. In this video, it looks like the wildlife has changed its behavior as a result of this copter. It starts with a giraffe walking. Then it's standing still. In another instance, there is an ostrich walking along a path. Then the camera angle changes and the ostrich is standing still a few steps off of the path. To me, these animals have changed their behavior while being filmed. There are lots of scenes of various herds running. Are they running because of the copter? There is a hyena that is dragging its meal away from the camera -- at one point stopping and turning its face to the camera while sniffing at it. The footage is beautiful and there's some lofty music playing along. But I feel that obtaining this footage was at the expense of the animals in it. Please, if you want to view wildlife, don't disturb it. If an animal even looks at you, then you have ventured too close.

So, you've got a shark that's choking on a moose. Sounds like the start of a bad joke. But, it really happened. The shark was rescued by some good Samaritans. It was too late for the moose...

Here are 8 unexpected habits of happy people. It turns out that being outdoors can be good for you and help you be happy. Duh!

Bald Eagle NX's Location, Bald Eagle HK - Mating or Bonding, NE Florida and SW Florida Nests Have Two Nestlings Each, Duane Noblick's Pictures of a Snowy Owl, Reese Lukei's Trip To Botswana, Bald Eagles Dying in Utah, Ron Dudley's Feathered Photography Blog

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! Wishing blessings to all in the New Year!

Bald Eagle NX checked in on Christmas day. She is 14 miles away from her 12/14 check-in.

Pam Monahan had a visit with Bald Eagle HK and got pictures of mating or bonding... Check out her blog entry...

The Northeast Florida and Southwest Florida Bald Eagle nests both have two hatchlings now. And so it begins again!

Duane Noblick got some really great pictures of a Snowy Owl. So pretty!

Reese has a blog entry about a recent trip to Botswana.

Something is killing Bald Eagles in Utah. Scientists think it is a disease as opposed to a toxin.

I haven't looked at Ron Dudley's Feathered Photography blog recently. Here are some interesting posts:

• Female Kestrel - Twisting, Turning Take-off
• Rough-legged Hawk in a Frosty Wonderland
• Rust on Rust - Female American Kestrel
• The Phantom Pheasant
• The Menacing Talons of a Prairie Falcon
• A Barn Owl Hunting (and a Bald Eagle)
• Red-tailed Hawk Sucker-punched by a Kestrel