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!
They have nice, new cams at the Southwest Florida Eagle nest. Someone is sleeping in the nest tree tonight. (Yes, technically, not sleeping at this moment in this s'cap. But as I was opening my program to take the capture, the scene changed from head-tucked to awake. Eagles don't sleep very soundly -- it's a matter of survival.)
The White-bellied Sea Eagles are doing a lot of wingercizing -- strengthening their flight muscles and burning off their baby fat in preparation for fledging. SE16 was flapping.
SE15 was flapping.
SE16 caught some pretty good air.
SE16 and SE15 were both wingercizing together for a brief moment. Then SE16 decided that she needed to tell SE15 a thing or two. This was the first bit of aggression that I've seen in a while, and it was short-lived. Here's the video From Wingercizing to Tiff (0:24):
There is a tracking update for the Loch of the Lowes transmittered Osprey FR3 and FR4. FR3 is continuing south (currently in the Western Sahara) and FR4 is staying along the Gambia River. I'm starting to think that FR4 has finished traveling, having found a spot with good fishing and nice trees in which to perch. I appreciate being able to follow their migrations and wonder about FR2's journey...
I think I forgot to hit "publish" last night. This post is for 7/18/2015.
I got some good s'caps of the Africam Black Eagle today.
The Eaglet is stretching, revealing the darker feathers coming in along the edge of the wing. You can also see dark where the tail feathers are coming in.
The feet are the first thing that grow to full size. That helps them to stand. This chick has some huge feet!
There are more dark feathers showing on the chicks back today.
You can see the dark feathers coming out in a row along the edge of the wing tip.
It looks like something has caught their attention.
Another view of the feathers coming in on the chick's back.
I did see the Eaglet stand for the first time today. (It may have stood before, but today was the first time I saw it.) It wasn't too steady and took a tumble! Whoops (0:29):
I recorded quite a bit of the Dyfi Osprey nest today, looking to see if any of them is ready to fledge. They were all lined up nicely.
Mom came to the nest and hollered for a food delivery.
Dad brought a nice big fish.
Three heads showing...
Only one head showing as they all put their heads down to sleep. The Osplets expend a lot of energy growing and wingercizing. The one face that is visible has its eyes closed...
Here's some wingercizing, getting some air.
Dad brought another nice fish for his growing family.
Then one of the Osplets got a lot of air!
This will happen all day long. It's interesting how the Osplet is using its tail like a rudder to stay upright as it hovers.
Dad is such a good provider. He regularly brings in fish and nesting material. But today, Dad's Hunk Of Grass had a mind of its own... (1:21):
The Harrison Bay Eagles were showing a lot of aggression toward each other today. It seems that they were both very hungry and were willing to fight each other for food. This may be a stage of training for them. It's important that they learn how to steal food. The parents might also be trying to encourage them to catch their own food by providing less. Here is a moment between rounds:
The other shows them fighting over food several times today. If one even thought the other had something to eat, it would try to steal it. This is the first time I've seen them show so much Food Aggression (1:51):
My recorder crashed when I tried to save the file of the Loch of the Lowes Osprey nest. So, nothing from them for today. I don't think the last chick fledged today...
The Harrison Bay Eaglets are pretty comfy out on the branches now. How quickly they learn!
Headless? No -- preening! One of the Eaglets sneezed again while I was watching. The moderator said that the Eagles at this nest sneeze a lot. It has something to do with allergens and the valley they are in.
This turtle wasn't as lucky as the one that escaped the other night.
The Eaglets can feed themselves now. But they will still cry for a parent to feed them.
Parent and Eaglet on the branch. It won't be long before one of the Eaglets ventures that far out...
I'm ready for my close-up!
The White Rock Eaglets are getting bigger and are feathering out.
Probably up to a 4.5 foot wing span now. I'm guessing by comparing it to the nest (smallish since it fell apart between nesting seasons and had to be rebuilt) and that the parent is about 3 feet tall from head to tail.
Finally, a chance to see the three Dyfi Osprey babies... But no! No zoom and no heads popping up.
My internet connection is still struggling and this is all I got before it froze during the overnight (my overnight).
You can often hear a train while watching this cam. Here it is in the background (blue and yellow). This is from morning my time. Afternoon their time.
These chicks were in a puddle in the bottom of the nest bowl. Finally, one raised its head. That's all I got... I'll record again tonight and tomorrow and see what I can get. Verizon is supposed to fix my internet tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll get enough speed back that it will stop freezing.
I got some good shots of the Scottish Wildlife Trust's Loch of the Lowes Osprey nest. It's easy to pick out the youngest on the left, still wearing its natal down. The two older siblings on the right have their thermal down coming in and look darker.
Dad came to the nest for a visit.
The youngest was in the back for the next feeding and couldn't get a bite.
The older sibling in front turned and elbowed its way to the back. I thought it must have been full...
Nope, just making its way to the bathroom... But that gave the youngest a chance to get some bites. The parents are doing a good job of making sure all of them get enough to eat.
Here's the plan: Put the babies in a food coma and then everyone gets to nap!
This was the first sign of aggression that I've seen at this nest. And the baby was the instigator! The older sibling was laying down minding its own business when the younger one reared back and then dove at the sibling.
It kept doing that until the older one got up and gave it a beat down. Eventually, the younger Osplet stayed down and it was settled.
Dad brought this huge fish to the nest. It was still alive.
Mom quickly started tearing off pieces and fed it to the babies. It didn't stay alive for long. Usually, prey is dead by the time it gets to the nest, having received fatal puncture wounds from the talons.
