eaglet watch

@qebo posted the link to the livecam focused on a bald eagle nest in eastern Pennsylvania a couple of days ago. I've been watching ever since. Not obsessively - really!

But I keep the tab up and when I hear cheeping, I'll check on them.

http://www.pgc.pa.gov/Wildlife/WildlifeSpecies/BaldEagles/Pages/default.aspx

The second egg hatched yesterday and the younger sibling was pretty floppy and not oriented. But it seems to be waking up more and there is some cute sibling rivalry already apparent.

Parenting skills are different between the pair of adults. Mama is much better at feeding the babes. Papa seemed much more perfunctory at the task two days ago, offering tidbits but then swallowing them himself. He has improved, but the difference is still notable. Someone is stocking up on fish, but the meal of choice seems to be bird.

Mama stayed away all night. Is that usual? This was the first time I was able to observe in the evening.

She's on nest-sit this morning, but she seemed disgruntled or too tired to tend to eaglet for a couple of hours. Later, she was very particular to feed both babies, though the older is pushy and grabby. I thought she preferred fish, but not today.

>2 2wonderY: I just saw this. It looks as if there's a fish to the rear (away from the camera) but the poor little darlings don't know how to feed themselves, yet.

The largest chick often will survive while the smaller sibling(s) won't, depending on how fair Mommy and Daddy are at feeding them.

Just remembered to check in. Papa is on board, but most of the food supplies are gone. He's looking out for Mama's return. He's got a bit of scrap he's willing to share; but baby 2 is still not as coordinated and not at all aggressive. Dad pretty much ignores him.

How can you tell it's the male?

The usual way...

No, the female is significantly larger.

Ah! the fish were buried in the straw, presumably to keep the flies from swarming.

>8 fuzzi: I saw the adult (I'm not going to try to guess) moving the nest material around the chicks, as if to shelter them.

They're both on the nest just now feeding the babes, if you want to compare sizes.. Whoops! That didn't last long.

My office mate asked today how long the eaglets stay in the nest.

So I investigated and found this compilation of information.

Papa's feeding both and big brother lunged at little brother, conking him in the head with his beak so hard little'un was knocked out for a bit.

>11 2wonderY: aw...

I just checked: either Mom or Dad is on top of the chicks, and tucking grass around its body.

Oh, and I counted three (3) fish tails...

Either Mom or Dad is looking bedraggled, wet, messy, but still covering the chicks.

Weather forecast is icky, but at least not frozen:

Tonight
Rain likely before 11pm, then a chance of showers, mainly between 11pm and 5am. Cloudy, with a low around 43. North wind 3 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

And there's more fish tails to the side...

Yeah, I think that's Pops.

Hah, I just saw this thread. :-) I often have the eaglets up during the day, but I keep the sound off because it's too distracting when I'm working. So I miss the cues for activity. I check the Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/414921745343756/ ) where people who watch more continuously post clips (especially gruesome food offerings), and people who watch from the ground report events not visible on the camera.

I just checked the infrared camera, and it appears there's a storm with lots of wind gusts in PA this evening. An adult is pushing the eaglets under its body as best as possible. The trees are moving a bit.

It's a cold wet day. Mama looks miserable, but faithful.

>17 2wonderY: It is indeed a miserable day here (across the river from the nest), but watching the bedraggled eagles I'm grateful to be inside.

Look at all the fish! (camera 2)

From the second camera you can also see the chicks under Mom/Dad, and it appears that they might be growing their feathers/fledging.

One of the babies is being fed. Doesn't the other get anything?

>19 fuzzi: The carnage gets to be quite something. I think there's still a dead squirrel in there too.
>20 MarthaJeanne: They've both grown quite a bit, so however unfair an isolated feeding may appear, they're both getting fed.

My! They've grown!

I came across an amusing story about a town in Alaska that hosts upwards of 800 eagles:
What it’s like to live with a national symbol

>22 2wonderY: 800 eagles
Oh my goodness. Those photos.

Okay, the babies are cute today in a new way. They've got expressions and are looking around when they are not napping.

The perqs of working at home. :-)

Have you checked in recently with the young'uns?

They seem to have all their feathers and are practicing wing beating. One is perched on the edge thinking about take-off. Brother is egging him on.

>26 2wonderY: Yeah, they're on the verge of branching and fledging. Two years ago at this stage, the camera lens was obscured by a well-aimed "poop shot", and viewers got only an occasional glimpse though a clear spot. Then one eaglet branched to the camera, and tilted it downward. I guess that's one reason PGC added a second camera last year.

Ha! Poop shot!

I see that Papa is still feeding them as juveniles.
That fish skeleton from yesterday's meal is quite a whopper.

One of the siblings just returned to the nest with lunch.

They haven't fledged. They're both branching, disappear from view then bounce back in. I wasn't able to get the webcam feed for several days (churning but no video), so I'm getting info from FB. Today got webcam...

So I missed a delivery stop by mom or pop.

Thanks for the reminder...I just checked the infrared cam, and saw one of the siblings preening energetically while the other slept.

One eaglet fledged early this morning. I didn't see it directly, but several people posted videos on FB.

Empty nest!

Nope second eaglet still branching.

>34 2wonderY: two eaglets in nest this evening!

cameras haven't been functional the last couple of days.

whoops - camera 2 came on. Nest is empty, and perhaps showing some deterioration.

I'm watching mostly via the FB group (link in >15 qebo:). A bunch of people have been posting videos when eagles are on the nest, and a bunch of people are on the ground tracking the fledglings.

>37 qebo: Ha! Food fight!

Thanks!

>39 MarthaJeanne: lovely!

So!

December 2017 - Staff members from HDOnTap and Codorus State Park worked through the cold and wind to replace and rewire cables at the nest site. Some of the nest had fallen. Two adult eagles have been frequenting the site with nesting material.

January - Streams from two cameras at the nest site went live. One camera is more of a side angle and the other a view from above, which also has infrared capabilities for night viewing.

Today, the nest looks abandoned. But eggs are laid in February. - last year, the first appeared on Feb. 10.

>41 2wonderY: The folks on the ground have been reporting about the nest condition with some degree of worry for a couple of months. I haven't been paying detailed attention, but the gist is that part of the nest collapsed at the end of last season as you note, and also a branch broke off, so the nest isn't as well supported. The eagles have been persistently rebuilding, but some of the material isn't staying put.

>41 2wonderY: An update on the nest status:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/414921745343756/permalink/919481998221059/
The gist, if you don't have a FB account and can't see the post: The nest in previous years was supported by two branches and a stub, but the stub broke off after the cameras shut down last summer. Several squirrels seem to be hollowing out the nest, taking material and chewing on interwoven twigs, which could be why the bottom of the nest dropped down this fall. The eagles are still repairing the nest occasionally, but not as often as in previous years, and speculation is that they may be building another nest elsewhere.

It appears that the old nest is no longer viable. Has anyone discovered their new nesting site?

>44 2wonderY: The eagles were rebuilding, then the bottom dropped out again last week (caught on video, both on the webcam and from below). But the eagles still seem dedicated to this site, and nobody has found another site. All I know is what's posted in that FB group, by folks on the ground who have been observing the eagles for years and know the general area well so they've been looking all over. The eagles have a few more weeks to figure out that this nest won't support eggs, or maybe they won't give up hope until they actually lose eggs. Observers of another nest that collapsed say it's possible to build from scratch quite quickly, in a matter of days.

Just caught the male on the nest momentarily. He flew off; I must have startled him. The nest is looking in somewhat better repair. But it's awfully small compared to last year.

He's back working on repairs!

Both are there discussing the plans.

Yeah, they really seem devoted to this location. Over the weekend they were seen breaking branches off trees to bolster the nest. Hopefully this latest incarnation will hold up.

How frustrating to have to build primarily with one's beak. I'm amazed that a safe structure results.

They've done a good job of repairs. Both are there fine tuning the nest this morning.

>51 2wonderY: Yeah, the nest looks quite viable now. They've been working on it like crazy. Egg(s) should happen any time now.

Egg appeared a bit before 3:30 this afternoon.

Ahhhhhh!
I’d about given up. I thought they might have found another spot, as their activity here had dropped off so drastically. I’m so excited. Yay !

The nest and the egg have been unattended for the bulk of the day. Is that the female on the nest right now? It's panting. Is this what a hen looks like laying an egg? I've never seen a bird in the act.

>55 2wonderY: There's a video somewhere of in the act, where you can see contractions but otherwise she's just sitting there. The panting is because it's hot, temperature 80 degrees (!!!) today, and that's what they do to cool off. The folks on the ground say that often when the eagles are not in the nest, they are nearby watching, attentive to intruders. They leave the egg even in extremely cold weather, seem to know how long is OK.

Okay, so a hunching posture is what to watch for, from other youTube videos.

Egg #2 today just after 6pm.

And if you would rather watch peregrine falcons in England try http://www.warwickshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/peregrine

Dramatic events at the eagle nest this week. The eggs are almost certainly doomed.

https://www.yorkdispatch.com/story/news/2018/03/21/hanover-eagle-family-disrupte...
http://lancasteronline.com/sports/outdoors/eagle-cam-drama-dad-fights-off-intrud...

The nest is definitely abandoned for the season. There is a thick coat of snow over the whole thing and broken eggshell is visible in the center where the snow has been scraped. (More visible from camera 2)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/414921745343756
These folks are trying to make sense of things. One difficulty is that the camera was out over the weekend (electrical problem that has been fixed), so the most crucial events were not recorded. And then two days of snow. Often the ground watchers and camera watchers coordinate to interpret activity. A male intruder seems to be gone. Seems that a young (can tell from markings) female intruder drove mom away, dad eagle remained on the eggs for days but eventually had to leave for food, and that was that for the eggs, also the female intruder has been walking on them. Today the female intruder and dad have been on the nest together. The dad was an intruder several years ago. The mom is (or was) about 18 years old, which is approaching end of life span. Nobody knows what happened to her. The owner of the property where the nest is has been looking, but eagles get around. Apparently it's too late for breeding, and the female intruder may be a bit too young anyway, so maybe she's setting the stage for next year.

The intruder breaks an egg and eats one one of the unhatched (and presumably already dead) eaglets:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-GkRFavfu4

The PA Game Commission outsourced the live cam to HDOnTap.

They didn't like my old browser, but I was able to duck under their ad for a look see.
Today, the nest is empty with a layer of snow blanketing it.

https://hdontap.com/index.php/video/stream/hanover-bald-eagle-nest-live-cam

But the blog says both Liberty and Freedom and that durn third bird have been sighted. This is the season for laying eggs.

https://hdontap.com/index.php/articles/type/category/hanover_eagle_updates

(You can see that awkward threesome on the January 24th post.)

>64 2wonderY: It's not the intruder from last year, the one who ate the eggs, say people who have been watching these eagles for years. Several juvenile eagles are in the area.

Rude adolescents, eh?

In 2017

Eagles Adopt Baby Red-Tailed Hawk, Putting Aside Violent Species Rivalry

I went looking for more of the story, and found this video that shows, contrary to expectations, the friendly adoptive siblings -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0O1Dp2cocQ

>67 2wonderY: Huh. I'd heard a bit about this but not the full story. Interesting video.

Baby just hatched in Scotland. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-61050493

>69 MarthaJeanne: Lovely. I’m glad you remembered this thread.

>64 2wonderY: I just checked the site and found this cam, with three chicks in the nest:

https://hdontap.com/index.php/video/stream/pa-farm-country-bald-eagle-live-cam

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg25433800-200-reality-tv-for-birds-shows-t...

A lovely article on the Cal Falcons webcam, and why this kind of access is important.

BTW, Our local national park reports that the nesting boxes set up for Kestrels are (once again) all being used by Jackdaws.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PL-6d-Q5ZP9CeZ8UsSHCH9A9AwiVC-SWZ...

If you want to see puffins on their nest underground. (Quite honestly, this is not terribly exciting right now. On the other hand, puffins!)

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/eaglecam-shows-heavy-winds-blow-nest-tree-ea...

How sad!

>74 MarthaJeanne: aw. Sorry to hear it.

Who's heard of this eagle who previously tried to hatch a rock? He was very protective of it, and then he became a father!

That's sweet.

But of course he now knows that he can hatch a rock, and does not need to bother with living with a female to become a father.

>77 MarthaJeanne: Truth! Both my parents have adopted their own since my siblings and I have flown the coop, and they take care of them, all the same. 💞

This guy specializes in trail cameras.

https://www.instagram.com/neil.rice85?igsh=Z3cweGFobmVqMml6

His posts edit for the best bits. Like this one:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3v6NNJJ2v1/?igsh=MTJiNHhtY3I5dG9jdA==

Here’s a beaver story:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4wDqgsvor8/?igsh=bmd3emxncDNxdHh4

Three posts so far. The first was just a video sighting. The second reports that the new neighbor destroyed Harry’s dam and Harry has been harvesting the neighbors new trees. It went viral.
This is the third post.

I understand not wanting your new trees destroyed, but living near beavers is pretty special.

>80 2wonderY: there are ways of protecting your trees from beavers without resorting to violence, like placing fencing barriers. 🙄

https://pestpointers.com/simple-tips-for-keeping-beavers-off-your-trees/

I bet the new neighbor couldn't build a dam.

>80 2wonderY: I don't know if I can watch that. I'm reading a book at the moment about the mountain men and trappers of the early 1800s and it breaks my heart how people destroy beautiful things for no good reason at all.

>82 MrsLee: There are no violent scenes, just re-building. But the comments are mixed.

It’s remarkable that this beaver has no problem being filmed. My daughter had a house that backed to a small stream and there was constant dam building going on, periodically washed out by heavy rains. She only saw a beaver once in a decade.

Wildlife webcam footage during northern California’s earthquake last week:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDSW494SVyV/?igsh=eThveTFxNnM2cm5m

>84 2wonderY: Cool!