In my excitement about the eaglets this morning at the KNF and the NEFlorida nests, I really did forget to say thank you to the people and the companies or government departments that sponsor and take care of the streaming cams so that we can learn about wildlife. My great hope is that by learning and caring about these amazing creatures and the challenges that they face, the more each of us will do to help out the environment whenever and wherever we can so that the lives of these beautiful raptors and seabirds continues.
Some of you might have seen the posting elsewhere but I want to mention it here in case you did not. A fully grown adult Bald Eagle flew into a plate glass window in a house in PA. It is in care.
https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/01/27/bald-eagle-crashes-into-houses-front-window/
This is nor the first time an Eagle has flown into a window although you are probably more familiar with the smaller birds that hit the windows and either get stunned and are alright or their necks are broken. There are solutions to this problem. The first one is to not clean your windows so that you can see reflections in them! Yes, I am inviting you not to make ever window in your house spotless. What a concept. The second is to install decals to prevent bird strike. Some of these work better than others. The third is to have ultraviolet barriers put on your windows. The last is something ingenious that I saw at our nature centre yesterday. They had 2 x 2 wooden boards cut the width of the window. Holes drilled in the bottom of the boards every 3 inches. Inserted inside were 1/4 inch nylon cords cut to the length of the window. They were glued into the holes. You could easily put the hole all the way through and tie the cord. These were hung outside the windows of the nature centre. The cords blew in the wind and they have never had a window strike despite having so many windows. I will take a photo the next time I am out there. I have so many birds in my garden and they all go flying madly in all directions if Sharpie arrives so, my windows are never spotless clean – never. I also have vines that hang down and the birds sit there and eat the berries or build their nests so – so far, any window strike problem has ceased.
In other Bald Eagle news, R-7, nicknamed Rover by the people of Brooklyn, was in Central Park giving everyone an absolute delight. How many Bald Eagles have you seen in Central Park? Incredible.
If you love urban raptors as much as I do and want to keep up with what is happening in New York City, I highly recommend Bruce Yolton’s blog urbanhawks.com
Everyone knows that I have a huge soft spot for the little eaglet of Anna and Louis. How could you miss it? At 15 days old this little one is a real charmer. What a beautiful image of it looking so lovingly up to its Mum.
The pantry is full of the most amazing things – all freshly provided by Kincaid Lake – Coots, ducks, all manner of fish including a large Bass today, and yes, turtles. With such a varied diet, this little eaglet and its parents are super healthy.
I am getting more than curious. Anna is feeding the eaglet on the KNF nest and there are 50 people watching.
Just look at that little one’s crop. No shortage of food, great parents, beautiful setting, super mods on the chat, super cameras, and great sound! That is what KNF has to offer.
There are 2129 people, as opposed to 50 at the KNF nest, watching the Bald Eagle incubate eggs at Big Bear.
What makes one nest more popular than another? I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Feel free to write me a comment or send me a note at maryannsteggles@icloud.com I seriously do not understand and want to!
The streaming cam at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge is still on the blink. For a few minutes Ervie was caught on the nest sleeping so all is well there.
For those of you that are fans of Xavier and Diamond, you might be aware that the temperatures in parts of Australia have hit all time highs of 50.7 C or 123.6 F. That heat really impacts the wildlife including the Peregrine Falcons who are being brought to the wildlife rehabbers for care. The one below is doing well!
Speaking of falcons, one of the pair (I could not make out which ones) was on the NE ledge of The Campanile just now at UC-Berkeley.
Diamond was on the ledge of the scrape. It was a bit foggy early in the morning with what looks like some rain. I checked and the temperatures seem to have cooled down considerably.
Well, I said it was civilized but despite an overflowing pantry provided by Samson, NE26 wants to be a bit of a ‘not so nice’ big sib at the most recent feeding. AWWWWWW.
Samson is really in competition with Louis for the most items in the pantry! Gabby is fabulous mother. “26, you need to settle down. Everyone gets fed.”
The eaglet at the Kisatchie National Forest just ate.
Anna filled up its crop. That baby is sound asleep in slumberland.
So if you don’t want to watch 26 bash 27 a bit, tune into the cutest eaglet at KNF. Here is the link:
Jack and Diane at the Achieva Osprey Nest were caught on camera mating on the nest today. Everyone is on egg watch as Diane settles. There is certainly excitement brewing amongst the chatters as Osprey season in Florida quickly approaches! Jack and Diane are the parents of Tiny Tot Tumbles – the third hatch no one though would survive last year but who did and became the dominant bird on the nest.
After watching Port Lincoln this year, we know that the atmosphere on a nest can change from year to year depending on the fish availability, the health of the adults, the temperature, and the gender make up of the chicks as well as the difference in hatch times. We wait to see how it will go.
The link to that camera is:
Thanks so much for joining me today. All other nests are doing well. We wait for Port Lincoln’s camera to get up and working again although there is no guarantee that Ervie will be there very much. Take care. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or their FB pages where I took my screen captures: NEFlorida Bald Eagle and the AEF, KNF Bald Eagle Cam, Falcon Cam Project at Orange and Cilla Kinross, Achieva Credit Union, and Minton Farms Animal Rescue FB, and Cal Falcons.
Thank you for the newsletter!
I think Big Bears are more popular because moderators upload interesting videos to YouTube. I also like the flying squirrel called Fiona, who lives there.
Diane from Achieva Osprey has been in the nest all these days and is really looking forward to it!
Hi Akane, Thank you so much for your input. I am so curious about this topic. I am just home. Wonder if Diane has laid that first egg? Must go and check. It is getting exciting….I can’t wait either, Akane.
Mary Ann, I too have wondered why Big Bear has such a huge audience, even during those times when no eagles were in the nest and when nothing of note was going on. Have they had a streaming camera for longer than anyone else, so more time to build a following? Or does it have something to do with YouTube algorithms? The more people watching a nest, the more likely YouTube will “recommend” it – which will attract even more watchers, and so it snowballs. That’s the only thing I can figure out. Also there’s the factor that a lot of schools are showing some nests in classrooms and that also boosts the numbers. Let me know what you might find out, as I’ve been curious too.
Hi Betty, You have brought up some interesting points about algorithms. I wonder. See Akane’s note below. She noted the extra videos by BB. I went and checked. KNF does this, too. I am so curious. There are also schools in Louisiana but it would only show the teacher as one person. I just checked on that. There are more people in California. Is there ‘state’ pride in Eagles? One of the chatters mentioned that Challenger was a ‘Louisiana’ eagle today. It is curious and I will share everything I learn in this process! Definitely.