KNF has a hatch

There are 57 European Starlings in my garden this morning. They are very skittery. Normally there are only 28. It is -12 and they are swooping down to get the chopped peanuts and sunflower seeds on the edge of the deck. They have already emptied the feeders. It is 10:49! They did that in less than two hours. Crazy.

The Starlings and Sparrows try – as hard as they can – to get those whole peanuts out but, they can’t. The peanuts go over in a box for little red and the little feeder gets full of meal worms, butter bark, and chopped peanuts. Often the Starlings will share a branch with the Sparrows so that all can eat.

The Black-capped Chickadee was all puffed up. It is fascinating how they take one tiny seed, fly to crack it and then return for another. We have one chickadee that always comes to the garden. On occasion, it will bring a couple of friends.

A few of us could not sleep last night and got up to wait for Anna and Louis’s little one to finish hatching. Cody and Steve had put a microphone inside the nest and you could hear the baby cheeping. It was soooo cute. Anna called Louis to show him their baby around 12:32. Everyone melted. It is incredible to be able to see this type of tenderness between Bald Eagles.

Louis wants to get closer and have a good look at the little fluff ball.

The rangers at the KNF nest believe that the little one was fully hatched at 00:17:00 on 12 January.

The lads at KNF spent a great effort getting that audio situated just right so, yes, please turn it up!

Here is the video of that hatch.

This is the wee one this morning. So soft! So fragile.

Anna will keep that baby nice and warm.

This is a very healthy and very tired eaglet. It worked really hard to get through that membrane and crushed egg. The fluids inside the egg provide the food for the eaglet so that it does not have to eat right away. Mother Nature is great – she compensated by giving it food because hatch is so tiring. Despite Louis’s enthusiasm for bringing in fish, this little one might not be interested in eating until late this evening.

Other Bird News:

There is no pip at Captiva Bald Eagle Nest yet. We might be waiting for two more days. Today is Day 38 and Connie’s eggs normally hatch around Day 40. Pa Berry and Missey are not giving anything away so it is unclear if there is a pip at Berry College. Ervie continues to chase Falky off the Port Lincoln Barge in Australia. Ervie was in the nest and Mum, Dad, and Falky were on the ropes. No sign of Bazza since Sunday. That statement does not imply anything sinister. He could be off camera or he might have decided it was time to leave on his journey to find a territory for himself — before his two brothers. That could be a very smart idea. I am pretty certain that Ervie will want the best spot!

R1 and R2 at the WRDC nest are really doing well and becoming more and more curious. They peak out to the rest of the world. These two of Ron and Rita’s seem to love to scramble out of that nest cup! If you don’t see parents right on the nest do not worry. They will definitely be close by!

They are just darlings. It looks like fish has been on the menu this morning.

Harriet and M15’s E19 and E20 are changing so quickly from the fuzzy little balls like the KNF eaglet to getting feathers. You can see the flight feathers coming in on the wing in the picture below. Look at those feet and the little tiny tails. They grow too fast!!!!!

The Hilton Head pair are also interested in what is going on outside their world. That low nest wall really makes me nervous. They are getting ‘long and lanky’ like E19 and E20 and soon we will be able to see their pinfeathers coming in clearly. Like the WRDC Bald Eagle Nest, Harriet and Mitch will be somewhere close by to their babies. No worries!

Oh, it is so nice that that little one of Anna and Louis arrived safe. What a relief when they finally make it into the world.

Thank you so much for joining me. It is so nice to have you with me today. Take care! See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen shots: KNF Bald Eagle Nest, Hilton Head Island Trust, SWFlorida Bald Eagle Nest and D Pritchett, and the WRDC Bald Eagle Nest.