9 April 2024
Good Morning,
I have said it before and I hoped not to say it again – it has been an incredibly tough year for our Bald Eagle families. Send your warmest and most caring thoughts to all the nests who have lost eaglets or adults – and continue to send supporting energy to those who have eaglets in the nest. They need it! Life is not easy this year.
Monday 8 April might have been the day of the Solar Eclipse, but it was also a day of joy that ended in tragedy in two of the Bald Eagle nests in the US – NCTC and Hanover. It is not the first time this year a young male eagle has mistook its newly hatched chick for prey and it won’t be the last, but for Bella, this is such a bittersweet moment. I cannot even imagine what she will be thinking when she finds her baby gone.
Regardless of its tragic ending, I want to document what happened at the NCTC nest. We have seen eagle eggs left in the cold and eaglets hatch. The best example I can recall is the Latvian White-tailed Eagle Milda when her mate Ramis died several years ago, right after she laid her eggs. Milda incubated for eight days without eating. She left her eggs in cold weather for approximately six hours to forage so she did not starve. No one believed the eggs would hatch, but they did. Sadly, the ending with the new male was the same result as at the two nests today.
This is what I wrote before I knew the ending: Miracles do happen. Not always when or where we want them, but this is a delight for Bella and Scout who have had difficulties this breeding season. A chick is hatching on Monday in eggs, which is believed non-viable!
From Deb Stecyk: Monday, April 8, 2024 – Welcome to Bald Eagles (BE) 101. Could a miracle hatch be underway at NCTC, we think so!! These eggs were left uncovered and not turned for long periods of time in cool temperatures, so we believed these eggs were nonviable!!! However, yesterday we noticed a small pip hole (Day 37) in one of the eggs and Bella’s behavior was highly suggestive that something was going on. Bella was fussing, more attentive and listening to the eggs. She also was sitting up higher while incubating the eggs. A brooding position is sometimes seen when a hatch is in progress. We also thought we heard chirping coming from one of the eggs. Just before dark, Bella took a break while Scout incubated. Bella returned with a catfish, which she did not want Scout to eat!!! The catfish remains on the nest! All these signs are highly suggestive of a hatch in progress. Despite these positive signs we remain guardedly optimistic and glued to our seats waiting to see if Bella and Scout are blessed with a miracle hatch!!! Talons crossed for this new pair!!! If a hatch occurs at this nest it will be precedent setting and unheard of in the eagle community.”
Well, that miracle happened. Remember.
The miracle baby’s first feeding – I hope they call this little one ‘Miracle’. Seems fitting under the circumstances.
It was Stella’s first eaglet to hatch in a few years after losing her mate Smitty. It was the miracle and now at 1930, Scout removed the eaglet from the egg cup and ate it.
The hatch at the Irvin plant of US Steel – parents Claire and Irvin – made the news. Let us hope that this little one remains safe.
Everything is good at the Redding nest of Liberty and Guardian. Experienced parents!
The accidental burial the day prior at Redding.
The little trio at Denton Homes are adorable. Treasure those three heads – this will be a huge effort for the parents to get them all to fledge.
Cheyenne and Wichita are doing fine on a nest piled with fish on Farmer Derek’s property in Kansas.
The two eaglets at Decorah North are getting their thermal down, and some pin feathers. Little treasures they are.
And this is the news you have been waiting for. Every day we hold our breath afraid to check on that Moorings Park nest. The news is good today, too…so read and look! (It always starts out rough but gets better as the day goes on…). It is after 1000 and it is hot on the Moorings Park osprey nest. Tuffie is doing what it can to get some shade. No fish in to the nest by Harry yet. Tuffie hanging in there.
‘H’ reports: “1031 – Harry delivered a beautiful whole largemouth bass. Tuffy was beaked into submission. Ruffie made sure s/he reinforced Tuffy’s ban from the feeding a couple of times. Sally and Ruffie ate the whole fish by 1049.1219 – Harry delivered a whole tilapia. Tuffie was immediately beaked into submission. The feeding was mostly blocked from view. At 1226 and 1229 Tuffie tried to get closer and was driven back each time. At 1230 Tuffy moved to the other side of Sally, but Ruffy followed and beaked him. At that point, with Tuffy out of view, we didn’t know if he was getting bites, but thought it unlikely since he was still next to Ruffie. At 1248 Ruffie moved away from Sally for a couple of minutes, and we knew that Tuffy was eating, then Ruffie returned to the table. Again at 1256 Ruffie moved away, and we knew that Tuffy was being fed. Ruffie later returned to the table, and by 1320 the feeding was over. Sally was still blocking our view of Tuffy. It wasn’t until 1338 that Sally moved and we were able to see that Tuffy had quite a large crop! Yay!”
“At 1507 Harry dropped off a headless fish. Tuffy had been sleeping and did not approach the feeding line for a minute, but when he moved toward Sally he was out of our view. At 1512 we got a brief glimpse of Tuffy, and he was laying down, not eating. Then at 1524, we could just barely see over Sally’s shoulder to note that Tuffy was eating. At 1527 Tuffy was beaked by Ruffie and he moved away. At 1532, we once again could see Tuffy getting bites of fish, and by 1533 the meal was over. Tuffy was seen with a nice crop after the meal.
At 1705 Harry arrived with half a fish. From 1706 to 1710 Tuffy was beaked or intimidated several times to keep him from eating. At 1712 Tuffy managed to get 6 bites, then he was beaked. At 1718 he got one bite and was beaked. Tuffy moved further away from the feeding. Finally at 1731, Ruffie moved away from Sally. Tuffy moved into position to eat but was out of our view. Sally began obviously feeding Tuffy. We could not see the fish pieces actually connect, but just counting the number of times Sally turned in Tuffy’s direction, Tuffy may have eaten 72 bites of fish. Total bites of fish for Tuffy at that meal = 79.”
‘H’ continues her reporting with a new fish arrival at Moorings Park: “At 1830 Harry delivered another headless tilapia. Tuffy was beaked and stayed away. Tuffy received 3 bites at 1837, then he was intimidated and moved away. Ruffy did not seem very hungry, but focused mainly on preventing Tuffy from getting near Sally. At 1841 Tuffy got a few more bites, then a few more bites at 1843. By 1846 Tuffy was eating solo, while Ruffie just laid there and watched. At 1849 Ruffie had a little more to eat, and they ate side by side. At 1851 Ruffie quit the meal for good. And, at 1852 Tuffy quit eating, walked away, and laid down on top of his large crop. Sally continued to eat for a while, but left a large tail portion on the nest. Tuffy had started the meal with a crop, and was noted to be crop-dropping a few times during the meal. Tuffy ate at least 55 bites of fish at this meal.”
Settled in for the night, you can really see the size difference between Ruffy and Tuffie.
There is beaking at the Fraser Point nest of Andor and Cruz. Nothing to be worried about right now – . Remember that it takes time for the eyes to adjust (for falcons this can take up to 5 days) – and a beak, any beak might mean food.
Mamma Cruz sits on them when it gets too be too much. Too funny. She has been chatting with Thunder.
And this is how you do it – constant food and diligent parenting. Thunder and Akecheta at the West End nest raise three.
At the University of Florida-Gainesville Osprey Platform of Talon and Stella, ‘R’ reports that at day 8 (as predicted), “the bonking has started”. Talon continues to provide lots of fish and the trio are doing well, otherwise.
In the second image, Talon is helping Stella feed the trio that hatched within 36 hours of one another. There is no little and no Big – isn’t it amazing. Eggs laid six days apart and hatch 1 and hatch 3 are the same size. We will see as they age but I am hoping Talon and Stella have them selves three nice little boys.
In contrast to the previous year, ‘R’ notes that the fish are larger this year and that it has been relatively wet as opposed to dry.
‘MP’ confirms that JBS20 has branched at the JB Sands Wetlands on Monday the 8th of April. When there isn’t a tree you must consider that both feet are off the nest and JBS20 flew to the rail. Well done!
‘AE’ sent this gorgeous image of JBS20. She will be fondly missed when she fledges.
The adults have had many problems to overcome at the JB Sands nest this year – the death of JBS21 and Mum’s injury and, the many intruders that still trouble the nest. ‘MP’ describes the scene below: “Dad or Pa at JBS has an intruder chase him as he brings prey (white bird) home with chick quite the spectator. The nest is bussing with activity the last coupe of days. The intruder is the one on the bottom and Pa is above with the white bird.”
I don’t want JBS20 to get knocked off that nest before she is ready to fly.
Mum is still doing all the work at the Trempealeau Eagle nest. Two eaglets. They are often left alone because Mum has to go hunting for food. She is trying. She can brood them without food or hunt and keep them alive as best she can. We have seen this before – M15. Decorah. It is not an easy thing to do, but there is little choice for single-parent couples or those that have a partner who is injured or MIA.
This is the latest news about Meadow from the Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey.
I began to wonder that if Meadow was in this rough of a shape, what is the condition of Swampy. Every eagle nest is infested with bugs, but were the eaglets getting enough food those last days before Meadow was blown off the nest?
Did you know that the folks that rescued Meadow had already rescued 18 eagles this year and it is only April?
There is distress at the Hanover Bald Eagle Nest. The little eaglet hatched and all were excited. Then, like Tom at Angel’s nest last year, the new male attacked and killed the eaglet. Condolences go out to all.
Geemeff noticed Maya’s laboured breathing a few days ago. Now Rutland have called in Osprey expert Tim Mackrill to see what is wrong.
Flora and Harry at Alyth.
Beloved Gary returns to nest 1 at Loch Arkaig.
Dorcha and Louis have an intruder doing a fly-by.
Images of Mr President and Lotus and at least one eaglet.
There was a double rainbow at Loch of the Lowes, too. May Laddie and Blue NCO’s breeding season be doubly blessed.
Send your positive wishes to Bella and the Mum at Hanover who lost their eaglets today. They will be devastated that those healthy, bright-eyed eaglets are gone.
Thank you for being with me today. Please take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, screen captures, and those operating streaming cams who assisted me in writing my post today: ‘A, AE, Geemeff, H, J, MP, R, SP’, NCTC, Deb Stecyk, PIX Cams, FORE, Trudi Kron, Judy Eddy, Denton Homes, FARMER DEREK, Moorings Park, Florida-Gainesville, MP, AE, JBSands Wetlands, Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey, Rutland Osprey Project, Stephanie Scofield, Geemeff, American Eagle Foundation, Loch of the Lowes Visitors Centre, and Livia Armstrong.
Oh Mary Ann, when I watched in horror, live unfortunately, as Tom mistook his and Angel’s sweet little hawklet for something that might harm the egg that became Deyani, and broke its neck, I had never seen such a thing before. And now, to have this happen again, twice in a single 24-hour period, is beyond tragic. The plethora of streaming cameras has taught us a great deal over recent years, not all of it pleasant! But we now know that parenting is not necessarily an automatic instinct in birds (for some males in particular) but, rather, a learned skill.
It was obvious at Angel’s nest last season that Tom was almost immediately aware that he had made a terrible mistake, trying to gently place the dead chick back into the nest bowl and revive it in some manner. And poor Angel, close enough to witness but not stop the sudden attack, literally screamed at him, a dreadful visceral noise I hope never to hear again.
From Tom’s behaviour subsequently, it was apparent that he had learned his lesson, and I am confident that if we are fortunate enough to see their clutch this year, we will witness him as an accomplished partner and parent. But the image of that trusting sweet chick yawning as he gazed up trustingly towards its dad for the first – and last – time will forever be burned into my brain. And I thought a red-tailed hawk nest was a less stressful watch!
Speaking of which, those three osplets of equal size are adorable, and hopefully they will all manage to eat! But I do find the bonking is simply too much for me. Poor little Tuffie. When an osplet with a giant crop is so determined to prevent a younger sibling from eating that you are counting the bites the smaller chick gets, it’s a sure sign that the nest is way too stressful a watch for my blood pressure to manage.
Oh, let us hope for a good season this year for these two.