A wonderful lady from Poland who rescued a Crow and took care of it for 5 months so it could return to the wild asked me how I could stay ‘distant’ and not get involved emotionally in the nests. That was perhaps two years ago now. I hope she still joins us here with the birds. The truth is I often scream at the screen, get upset, yell at particular birds as if I know better than then, can’t sleep at night if a bird is encased in ice, etc.
Most of the time the nests are brilliant but sometimes you meet up with one that simply doesn’t make sense the way the others do. For me, this year, that is Dale Hollow.
At 17:02:41 today, River returns to the nest having been there earlier. She has decided it is time to feed the eaglets even if they are sleeping. Immediately Big gets up – has a leftover crop from the 11:52:51 feeding. Big attacks Little Middle just to make sure it didn’t move up to eat. Even then Big hangs back close to Little Middle so he won’t move up near to the food. Middle Little tucks its head in way under and he stays that way.
In the middle part of the feeding, there is another attempt at intimidation. It is clear from the first part that Middle can still get up to Little Middle’s head.
In the third part, Middle begins to move, finally. River reaches out and gives it a bite of food. Why did she not slow the feeding? Why did she not turn with her head to the rim? It is an easy thing to do – after all, she has done it before. Little Middle could have eaten but it was too frightened. I find this nest to be so sad. Even with 6 fish coming in yesterday nothing stopped Big’s wrath.
Thankfully the weather has cleared at the West End Bald Eagles nest. Thunder, Akecheta, and the three babies are fine! In the image below, Dad is drying off his wings. The babies are in front of him sound asleep.
Everyone is fed.
I yelled at Akecheta last year about his refusal to guard the nest. He was 5 years old and figuring out slowly – very slowly – what his role was. Thunder had faith in him and it has surely been rewarded this year. Cheta wouldn’t let anyone touch those kids of his – and everyone eats. Not one of them has been hungry, left out, or bonked and the little one is 4 days younger than the oldest! They are also very healthy and growing strong. No fear or intimidation just trying to corral curious kids with wooden blockades!
Look at how big and tall the oldest is. Beautiful. Looking out over the sea where she will be flying one day. Too soon.
There is your power couple.
There was a prey drop and a bit of a ritual bonding in the scrape of Annie and Grinnell at The Campanile on the campus of UC Berkeley. Here is a video clip of this ritual….BTW. We are expecting Annie to lay the 3rd egg this evening. Cal Falcons predicts it will be 20:10 scrape time.
Look carefully and you can see the pip progressing in the egg at the National Arboretum Bald Eagle Nest. They say you can hear it peeping now. Mr President and Lotus are not giving a thing away.
It is just miserable at the nest of Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear. The icy snow has turned into rain for now. The nest and adults are soaked to the core.
Poor Jackie. The weather is so bad. Shadow filled up the nest with food, bless his heart. You can see the stacks of fish behind Jackie. Hopefully there is a break to feed the baby who should have a name soon! One of my readers, ‘A’, a teacher who wants to ensure her students are empathetic with wildlife sent in the name ‘Hope’. It is so fitting for this time. I did not mention this while the contest was open but it is certainly what we all must have – Hope.
It is definitely a busy day on the nests. I am going to bring this blog to a close with a look at the female star of the Dyfi Osprey nest in Wales, Telyn, the mate of Idris! These two are so close to my heart. Telyn arrives and doesn’t sit on the nest waiting for Idris to bring her a fish – and he is truly the king of bringing in huge fish. No, she goes off and gets it herself. I sure hope her mate and the others we are missing are home soon. Welcome back, Telyn, Blue 3J. Eat and rest!
Thanks so much for joining me today. You couldn’t hear me yelling at River to turn herself around. It is hard to see one eaglet with a crop eat a fish and a half and the other get a single bite. But…At any rate, take care. It feels like there is going to be lots of news tomorrow. See you soon!
Thanks to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures and video clips today: Cal Falcons, Dale Hollow Bald Eagles, West End Bald Eagles and the Institute of Wildlife Studies, Friends of Big Bear, National Arboretum Eagles and the AEF, and Dyfi ospreys.
I thought that my blog would appear tonight but the day got flipped so it is out by noon but, if there is an evening report, it will be quite late.
The weather in California is not good. The storm hitting the Channel Islands is intensifying while it is yet to hit Big Bear Valley. One with rain and high, high winds – the other with high, high winds and snow.
The weather forecast was dire for Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear Lake with high winds and snow. The wind is currently blowing at 14 mph with a temperature of 38 F.
The winds remain with the snow expected to arrive today.
At 10:47, the weather is better for Jackie and the baby.
Those same winds are hitting the Channel Islands and the nest of Thunder and Akecheta at the West End. In still images you cannot see the wind or hear it but for Thunder, Akecheta, and the trio it is blowing at 29 mph.
The winds turned into winds and rain. Akecheta is hunkered down on those three babies so nothing will happen to them! Please keep this family in your thoughts today and send them positive energy. The storm is, at present, much worse here than at Big Bear.
Here is a video clip I took so that you can see the intensity of what the eagles are facing.
At 09:47:
Akecheta and kids at 10:44. Soaked.
It is raining on the Redding California nest of Liberty and Guardian but so far they seem to be spared the high winds that West End and Big Bear are getting.
It started out foggy for the east coast of Florida a the nest of Samson and Gabby in Jacksonville. The fog will burn off and it is going to be nice for our eaglets, Jasper and Rocket, who are working on wingersizing and getting their balance down perfectly. Both are self-feeding and well branching and hatching is going to come soon.
Jasper hatched on the 23rd of January (04:06am) and Rocket on the 25th (02:24am). Jasper is 63 days old and Rocket is 61.
Note: The information on the streaming cam indicates that the pair are only 21 hours apart but the hatch times listed must then be incorrect. Whatever the date it will be another 2 weeks when we will really be looking for fledging.
At the Dale Hollow Nest of Big and Middle Little, Middle Little is crying to be fed despite 6 fish being delivered to the nest on Sunday, Little Middle got hardly any food after noon because of Big’s intimidations and beakings. River brought a fish to the nest at 06:54:39 but did not feed them. They are both hungry and a little restless.
They look like wooly insulation today.
River arrived at 10:18:14 to feed the eaglets. Big went up immediately. Little Middle observed and then moved to the left of the nest – and River changed her position so she could feed it and Big – separated by her body! Well done, River! Both got to share the small fish and both had crops, not huge but they both ate well enough. Now we need more fish!
River used her ‘eagle eyes’ to notice that Little Middle was moving up and wanted food. See how she turned to face the rim which protected Little Middle from Big.
Did you know that the term ‘eagle eye’ was first used in the 1500s before science understood eagle vision. Eagles have 5x the amount of light cells packed into a square inch. Humans can see at 110 degrees with both eyes, eagles have two foveae (the place in the retina where the cells that sense light are located) in each eye. They can see much better in all directions – including almost 360 degrees of peripheral vision, according to Sibley.
Both eaglets are getting some of their blood feathers – more, of course, on Big.
Some of you have commented about a chat at Dale Hollow. The chat for Dale Hollow appeared yesterday and then today for a bit. According to one of the moderators, it is only on when the cameras are re-booted and probably won’t be on at any regular times if at all.
The eaglets are 28 days old – 4 weeks. Remember when you look at their size that only 51 minutes separates them in terms of hatch time. Big is just huge. You can easily see those wing and contour feathers coming in on Big in the image below. Look at the tip of the wing.
River flew in with a nice fish at 11:50:51.
Notice Big’s large crop from eating almost an entire fish earlier as she moves over to get fed. Little Middle puts its head down.
But wait! Is Big too full? ready to cast a pellet? (they don’t always want to eat them) The adult is stretching out to feed Little Middle! Oh, kiss that eagle!
Big decides it wants some fish, too. But there is no discord. Eventually the adult moves away to the other rim so that the two are divided.
Just look at Little Middle’s crop!!!!!!!!!!! Yahoooooooooo.
Excellent. Little Middle made up for missing much of the earlier fish and winds up with an enormous crop. Well done, Little Middle.
It has been awhile since we had a really good look at the osplets on the Captiva Osprey nest. With the death of Big on the 15th (cause unknown still), the two remaining chicks have thrived with absolutely no discord. Today they are standing and it is seriously difficult to tell Middle from Little.
They are seriously beautiful little Ospreys and it is wonderful for Andy and Lena to continue to have two healthy babies who look like they will fledge without a problem.
Can you tell between Middle and Little? It is difficult. Middle is standing in the image below. Its feathers are a little darker having grown out longer.
Harry is keeping the MN DNR nest full of prey – talk about choice! – for his two wee ones and Nancy. Their weather is so much nicer than in other parts of the US.
It is cool in Ithaca where Big Red and Arthur have their nest with some snow falling on occasion. Big Red and Arthur are incubating four eggs – a first for this nest and a rather rare event even if hawks can lay up to 5 eggs. Ironically, the University of Syracuse RTHs now have four eggs, too!
The same snow that is falling in Ithaca is hitting Pittsburgh and the Bald eagle nest out in Hayes even more. Mum and Dad are brooding three chicks. Stay warm!
There was a pip in the second egg at the National Arboretum nest. Here is an image of the egg during a shift change today and the adult. Will hopefully have good news tomorrow on a successful hatch for Mr President and Lotus.
In the image below, taken at 09:22 this morning, you can clearly see the egg tooth chipping away. Oh, my goodness, fingers crossed for these two.
Here is a recent video of the hatch for Mr President and Lotus as it progresses:
There was some speculation about the Dale Hollow nest when the camera was turned away from the nest. It appears, from comments I saw by the woman who does the videos, that at one time or another – perhaps during that long view – Little Bit was removed from the nest and probably fed to Big. Several of you thought that was the case. Eaglets from other nest also brought on. Good sleuthing. Sad.
Thank you for joining me today. Please take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cam: Friends of Big Bear Valley, West End Bald Eagles and the Institute of Wildlife, Dale Hollow Eagles, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Pix cams, NADC-AEF, Cornell Bird Lab and RTH, MN DNR, Redding Eagles, and NEFlorida Bald Eagles and AEF.
The image below pretty much says how the day has gone for Little Middle (notice my new nickname for DH15) at the Dale Hollow Bald Eagle nest. I do not have the time stamp but it was mid-afternoon. River had fed the kiddos all of the food on the nest. You can almost hear the two siblings comparing their crops – Little Middle insisting that his is ultimately larger because he is so much smaller than Big!
It has not been a day without its troubles, without Middle Little striking the submission pose to protect its head when Big would get up to eat. But, so far, it has been nothing like yesterday at all.
At 16:56 Obey? arrives with a fish. Big and Middle Little are too full to even think about having any bites of that fish.
Obey takes the time to aerate more of the nest.
Obey? begins calling and flies off. River? returns with a small Sucker.
At 17:11:46 s/he tries to feed Big.
Nope. Too full. Little Middle turns to face parent for a feeding but, ultimately, he is too full. Big does not even acknowledge that Little Middle is moving by the fish. Talk about a 360 degree turn.
Parent begins to bury the fish in the nest. By 17:24:25 Little Middle is ‘thinking’ about fish and drops its crop a bit. But Little Middle is just thinking and not eating. At 17:43:52 Little Middle moves over by the fish and does a couple of pecks at it.
It is now 18:09. The nest is calm.
There are two fish (Suckers) on the nest and whatever else River has hidden. Neither of the two eaglets are interested in eating. So, how to have a happy nest? how to stop intimidation? Keep the fish coming in for several days in a row. Are we beginning to turn the corner at the Dale Hollow nest? Gosh, I sure hope so!
River is looking at them and she knows bedtime is coming. Will she try to feed the pair again?
Yes. At 18:36:51, River unzips the large Sucker at the top right of the nest.
At 18:37:07 River offers the first bite to Little Middle. Is this a mistake?
Little Middle wants to move around to the other side of River. Good move. River feeds Big.
Smart. If Big gets mad, Little Middle is protected by being on the other side of Mum.
At 18:48:25 Little Middle takes a chance and moves up between Mum and Big. What is he thinking???!!!!!!
Goodness. Little Middle gets some bites and also reaches down and eats some of the flakes of fish off the nest. Talk about brave! Whoooooaaaa.
Wow. That worked out. Little Middle is totally stuffed and walks away from the feeding area at 18:53.
You could set an alarm by Obey’s regular 19:00 visit to check on the nest. He must be happy with what he sees – two full healthy eaglets.
The feeding is over. There is one fish hidden and half of the large sucker remaining for tomorrow morning. Sweet eaglet dreams everyone. It has been a good day at Dale Hollow.
Other Nests: There is a pip in the first egg at Decorah North for Mr North and Mrs DNF. That pip started at 12:46. Just after I was thinking that the Cal Falcon scrape of Annie and Grinnell was secure, Annie flies off to hunt or something and Grinnell entertains one of the five juvenile females that are trying to entice him. Grinnell, behave yourself! BTW. This is not normal behaviour and ‘B’ suggested today that Grinnell has not been the same since his injury 29 October. I agree. This scrape is certainly better than the old soap operas that used to be on the telly that my Grandmother watched!!!!!! There is also a pip in the second egg at the MN DNR nest of Harry and Nancy.
Parents at Pittsburgh Hayes are doing great with their two wee ones. Dad hauled in a massive fish after the following video was posted.
Jasper and Rocket at the NEFlorida nest of Samson and Gabby are still home, still self-feeding, and still adorable.
The two little ones of Liberty and Guardian on the Redding Bald Eagle nest need a bath! It is not clear if it was a coot or a duck but they are now being fed one of the organs. They have not injured one another – it is just the feeding!
Thunder brought in a really nice fish to the West End Bald eagle nest. The trio lined up nice and straight and very polite for their feeding.
At the Captiva Osprey Nest Lena is using her peripheral vision and is really hoping that Middle doesn’t hit her with a PS.
Lena has moved over because she knows that Andy is incoming with dinner. The kids are excited to see a fish on the nest.
Martin has at least 5, perhaps more, super large fish on his nest with Rosa at Dulles-Greenaway. Wish he could courier a couple of those over to Dale Harbour.
And if you want to imagine a spread in hatch days, these are the dates for Big Red’s eggs: March 14, 17, 20, and 23. Yes, the difference from egg 1 to 4 is 9 days.
Arthur would really like Big Red to move so he could have a turn incubating those precious eggs.
It has been a good day! Thank you so much for being here with me. Looking forward to seeing you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Cornell Bird Lab and RTH, Dale Hollow Eagle Cam, West End Bald Eagles and the Institute of Wildlife, MN DNR, Pix Cams, Dulles-Greenaway Eagles, Redding Eagle Cam, Captiva Ospreys, and NE Florida Bald Eagles.
Please pardon any spelling or grammar issues today. I have not had time to proof this report, unfortunately. Thank you!
So far it is a pretty good morning even at Dale Hollow Lake Bald Eagle nest on the border of Tennessee and Kentucky in the US. I turned on my computer just as a small fish was brought in my River, with its head, at 08:11:14.
Big goes to intimidate Middle at 08:23:49 but it is not the level of frenzy that Middle experienced late on the 23rd. Big ate all of the fish that came in. It was finished at 08:35:16. Then River moved over to the piece of Sucker that was still on the nest at 08:36:29.
I was encouraged by River’s actions as she clearly seemed to have feeding Middle in her mind. Middle turned to River to eat at 08:37:23 and then Big entered the picture pushing herself between River and Middle after she had a PS.
It was evident that both Big and Middle had eaten earlier as Middle had a nice crop.
River began feeding Middle at 08:38:25.
Eight minutes later, at 08:46:15, Big decides it wants to eat and starts intimidation. It ate a few bites.
River tries again to feed Middle at 08:47:33. River stops feeding at 08:47:25. There is still a piece of the sucker left. The nest is quiet of any animosity. At 09:03:38 Big turns and towers over Middle and does nothing! River returns to the nest. She is aerating the area by the small piece of remaining sucker. Big moves down at 10:01:20 and River feeds Big all the Sucker.
By 10:11:40 Middle is up at the top of the nest on the left being fed the rest of the old fish tail (not much on it). Big ignores the whole thing! Both eaglets are full. It is just after 10:15 on the nest.
Despite the modest attempts of intimidation, Middle ate this morning and has a nice crop when I stop watching. Big also has a crop. Hopefully more larger fish will come on the nest. Indeed, I hope that obey knows where to find more suckers! We can be joyful. This morning has been good for Middle!
River returns to the nest later to aerate. It is now 11:35. No more food items but not expected. Both Middle and Big have big crops still!
Middle had a really healthy PS at 11:32:41.
There is Big’s Crop. Because Big is such a large bird – no doubt she is a she – her food requirements are probably twice that of Middl now. Continue to send positive wishes for this nest. We are not out of the woods yet but I sure hope we are in a week. Both chicks cast pellets this morning and both had at least one PS. Enjoy this morning. It has been a good one at Dale Hollow.
Here is the first view of the newly hatched chick at Harry and Nancy’s MN DNR (hatched yesterday).
I have received word from ‘S’ in Latvia that a female interloper White-tailed eagle has destroyed the two eggs that Milda had laid on her nest in Durbe County. This is what ‘S’ conveyed: “Just a quick update. Yesterday evening a ringed strange female came to the nest and destroyed/ate Milda’s eggs while Milda was away feeding. Voldis did not stop her. It’s clear Voldis is not in any nesting mode yet, since his incubation skills also did not improve significantly. The intruder female is a Latvian WTE who was ringed in Latvia, near Jaunpils in 2016.”
Here is a video summary of the events:
As ‘S’ points out, many of the experienced watchers of Milda’s nest believe this to be better as it is clear that the situation could have gotten worse – no care for hatchlings, lack of prey to nest, etc.
‘S’ also included a message sent out by the Ornithologist, Jan Kuze:
“Today we have witnessed a very interesting turn of events – at least I am not aware of any other such cases. The role was played by the fact that the male is young and inexperienced, its connection with the territory and this partner is not sufficiently strong yet. The female continues to incubate due to inertia, but it cannot be ruled out that another egg will be laid in this nest, the next week or two will show.
I ringed the egg-eating female bird in the vicinity of Jaunpils on 25.05.2016. It is a young female who has reached the nesting age and is looking for a nesting area, it cannot be ruled out that we will continue to see her here and that some conflicts will continue.”
In Montana, members of the Raptor Resource Project are installing some ‘goose exclusion’ mechanisms to the Osprey nests. Here is the message from Dr Ericke Green:
It is not an Osprey nest but an unused Bald Eagle nest at Decorah, Iowa. The Canada Goose that has been checking out this nest has now laid her first egg. This is going to be a terrific nest to watch as long as there are is no predation. Imagine all those little goslings jumping off the sides.
The goose laid the egg and then covers it. Did you watch Daisy on the WBSE nest? If so, you might remember that the goose or duck will lay their eggs and then begin to add down from their breast to make the soft nest. After 24 hours, the goslings will all jump down! They have quite a ways to go but video has been taken of goslings jumping 106 m or 350 feet. They bounce! It is really exciting. They will then follow their Mother to water where they will begin eating. Ducklings and goslings are precocial – covered in feathers and able to eat on their own after hatch. Amazing.
On the Cornell Campus yesterday, 19 year old Big Red surprised everyone when she laid a 4th egg! Perhaps most surprised was her 6 year old mate, Arthur. Cornell called it “unprecedented” on Twitter. Red tail Hawks can lay up to 5 eggs. Since the camera became operative in 2012, Big Red has consistently laid 3 eggs. It is not know how many she laid in years prior.
I will alert all of you as pip approaches for Big Red and Arthur as well as for the Peregrine Falcon couple, Annie and Grinnell. If you are used to watching eagles, it is very educational to observe the smaller raptors and how they manage larger clutches.
Speaking of Falcons, it is not time for any egg laying by the Australian falcons at CBD 367 Collins Street or Xavier and Diamond at Orange. That will come in late summer. For now, there are several nests. That said, I am playing close attention to Annie and Grinnell (as much as Dale Hollow allows for). This morning Grinnell was in the scrape at 06:44:05 calling Annie. I sure hope he had her breakfast! In terms of hunting, Peregrine Falcons, the fastest birds in the world flying up to 370 kph, capture their prey when flying. That prey can range from parrots, doves, pigeons, Starlings, to geese and herons depending on the falcons location.
For those just starting/thinking about observing this scrape, there is one quick difference between Grinnell and Annie. Grinnell has a black ID on his left leg and a standard silver band on the right. I would also like to draw your attention to the hue of Grinnell’s legs, cere (the yellow part above the beak), and the yellow around his eyes. Notice how the colour appears to be an orange-yellow. This deep colour indicates that Grinnell is extremely healthy.
At 08:48 Annie returns to the scrape. Peregrine Falcons may have first laid their eggs in twig nests but, if they did, they evolved to using cliffs with sand or pebbles. It is believed that this allows for few, if any, diseases unlike Eagle nests that constantly have to be aerated.
The eggs that Annie will lay are some of the most beautiful in the avian world with their rich red-brown colour. Indeed, because of their beauty and size they became the target of egg collectors. Once Annie begins hard incubation, her and Grinnell will take turns for 33-35 days. On occasion, as at the CBD Collins Street Nest in 2021, all three of their eggs hatched within a few hours. It helps to avoid the issues that we have seen at Dale Hollow and with Eagles and Ospreys in general. Once hatched, it is 5 to 6 weeks til fledge. The parents will then train the eyases to hunt and feed them for about another month. On occasion, the fledglings return to the nest area.
I sure hope Grinnell had a good breakfast for her. Annie appears to be ‘thinking’ about laying eggs. We wait.
Here is a recap by CalFalcons of the 2021 year. You might want to turn the sound down a little – the music is quite loud (or maybe not). It compresses the season from mating to banding to fledge.
At the Berry College nest of Pa Berry and Missy, B15 is one sweet and energetic eaglet! The nest has become a launch pad for ever higher jumping. B15 loves the wind between its wings. This morning he was up checking out the DVR. Fledge could come any day now. It has been a terrific year for this nest.
About four hours ago, Harriet at the Dahlgren Osprey nest laid her second egg. Jack continues to bring in toys. Oh, dear. Last year an egg got lost in all the items on this nest. Poor Harriet.
As we wait for Richmond and Rosie to finish their nest and the arrival of Iris in Montana, the Ospreys heading to Europe are on the move. A couple of days ago there were 51 on a site in Senegal and today only 10.
I want to check on Karl II, the male at the Karula National Forest Black Stork nest who is making his way home for the spring and summer breeding season in Estonia. Yesterday, 23 March, Karl was making good progress and was feeding at Lake Beysehir in Isparta Province in Turkey.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Karl II would normally be heading for an area around Odessa in the Ukraine on the Black Sea. Is it possible that he might revert and fly slightly West? We wait.
The day is half over on the Dale Hollow nest and I would suggest that it was a good start. River is currently on the nest shading the eaglets.
Thank you so much for joining me. I have skipped around checking on other Bird news this morning. All of the other nests are doing well and there is a lot going on. A storm is heading to Captiva that might put fishing off for Andy because the air pressure drives the fish deeper in the Water. Jackie and Shadow have been dealing with intruders. I may not get to all of those today. It could be a very late report. Take care everyone!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Cornell Bird Lab and the Montana Osprey Project, Cornell Bird Lab and RTH, Dale Hollow Eagle Cam, Cal Falcons, Berry College Eagles, Looduskalender, Google Maps, Dahlgren Ospreys, and Explore.Org. I know that there are more pressing concerns in the Balkans but I am extremely grateful to ‘S’ who took the time to alert me about Milda’s eggs being predated. Thank you ‘S’, I know the birds are your solace right now.
In my review of the day’s happenings, I note that each time a feeding took place or on one occasion when a parent simply moved a fish, and another when Middle did absolutely nothing, Big began physically attacking the younger sibling. Big’s crop was completely full on several of these occasions. Middle has learned to be careful and to move around watching. Middle even stood on a piece of fish and pulled off some pieces today. That was wonderful!
What is worrying is that despite food today and both with full crops, Big continues its rampage. In fact, the last attack today was the most frenzied and the longest (5 minutes) since Big killed Little Bit and turned on Middle.
Both had crops by 17:30. Big had eaten first then Middle.
WARNING: There are images showing Big beaking Middle.
At 17:56:05 Obey delivers a fish to the nest. Both chicks are so full that despite River’s calling, they don’t even think about eating.
Obey leaves the fish by Middle along the edge of the nest. It is a fair size Sucker with its head.
River goes to move the fish over for a feeding at 18:22:15. Big begins her attack on Middle. This is meant to completely intimidate the younger sibling from eating and is referred to as ‘sublethal’ fighting.
It is a good time to stop and look at the size difference between the two siblings in the image below. Big is an enormous eaglet. According to Mock, Drummond, and Stinson in their article, “Avian Siblicide” published in American Scientist, “…the size difference between siblings was important in determining the outcome of bouts of sibling aggression. When the size difference was large early in the nesting period, the first-hatched chick almost invariably pecked, bit, and thrashed the second-hatched chick into submission (189).” In the Dale Hollow nest, Big turned on both but focused her attention on killing Little Bit. She then turned on the second sibling, Middle. It is believed as the size difference decreases, so will the frequency of aggression. Big requires lots and lots of food. They are both 25 days old today and are entering a period of super growth. Will Big’s growth slow? and Middle’s increase? We can hope.
Look at the difference in size between her wing and Middle’s – even the tail and head are more than twice the size. Middle would be killed if he tried to fight her – and for what? He finished eating about half an hour before this fish lands on the nest. He had a nice crop. Best to hunker down, hide his head and hope that she gets tired of attacking him and goes to eat.
It is clear that Big actually enjoyed the frantic beaking. It lasted from 18:22:15-18:27:42. That is almost five minutes. This is an increase in not only time but the amount of beaking in the frenzy.
Big tried to reach over Middle so that he could get to his head.
Then he physically moved so he could. Big was determined to not only frighten but, it appears, to injure his sibling despite the fact that his crop was full and he had eaten in the last hour.
That is the longest attack since the ones the day Big killed Little Bit. Middle is terrified and does not hardly move during the entire time that River fed Big. Middle really needs a huge growth spurt to help it counter these attacks. It is well know that once it reaches a larger size, Big will no longer be able to fatally injure it.
Once River finishes, Middle raises its head cautiously. You can see that there is a large portion of fish remaining. Obviously enough for a calm feeding for two! So why is Big amping up the frenzied attacks on Middle today? This is the worst one yet.
Sweet little Middle looks over at its sibling. Does it wonder if it is safe to move?
River flew off and Big fell asleep. Middle is looking around from the centre of the nest by Big.
River flew in. She did not feed either chick. She is brooding them.
It has been quite an unnerving day on the Dale Hollow nest. The eaglets were not fed til late and this clearly agitated Big whose attacks on Middle during the day increased in their time and frenzy. Let us hope that tomorrow is a better day for our little Middle.
Thank you for joining me. I am sorry that this is not a joyful jumping up and down report. This nest is still very unstable and anything can happen, sadly. Take care everyone.
Thank you to the Dale Hollow Eagle Cam where I took my screen captures.
Many of you have been watching the Captiva Osprey nest in Florida along with me. It is the home of Lena and Andy and their chicks. The oldest sibling, Big Bob, passed away on the 15th of March around 08:39. This was a shock to everyone as all of the osplets appeared to be in good health. Big Bob’s body was take to the University of Georgia at Athens where a necroscopy was undertaken because CROW did not have the sophisticated equipment to conduct the tests. It was originally anticipated that the cause of Big’s death would be know at the end of that week. it has been announced that the tests are now being run by a national laboratory with even more sensitive testing equipment than the UGA Vet School.*
Andy, Lena, and the two remaining chicks are doing very well. Little’s plumage is almost catching up to Middle’s and they are relatively equal in size. Gorgeous Ospreys.
Andy is arriving with a morning Mullet appetizer at 08:14:57.
Look at those beautiful ‘babies’. Middle is on the left and Little is on the right.
Andy is off to get a bigger fish so he can eat the head and have some breakfast, too. He brought in the tiny teaser Mullet in tact. Look at the back plumage. Soon we will have difficulty telling the two chicks apart.
At the Red-tail Hawk nest of Big Red and Arthur, Arthur flies in to relieve Big Red at 06:40. He already has her breakfast waiting for her and she is off!
Arthur got to incubate their eggs for about forty-minutes before Big Red returned to take over.
Big Bob and Middle Bob had a really good feed yesterday morning at the Dale Hollow Nest. That Coot that filled both of them up to the brim and more was a blessing since it appears that nothing came on the nest but a small unidentified object (rat? small squirrel skin?) later. That said, the camera was diverted to the lake in the early evening. It appears – but I cannot confirm 100% – that River was digging in the nest at the time. It also appears that she found Little Bit’s body and fed it to Big. Again, I cannot confirm that for certain. It was only by going back and slowly moving the feed that we were able to catch the momentary checks on the nest.
Both were very hungry this morning and Big let it be known that whatever was coming in, he ate first. The parent arrived empty taloned.
A little later the parent returned and fed the unidentified object to the right of it above to Big. Middle did not venture up to even sniff the prey knowing that Big is very hungry and not in a good mood.
I will monitor the Dale Hollow nest again before I finish and bring any updates below. I find myself returning to the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta. Thunder looks on with pride last evening as Akecheta feeds the three eaglets. We are all so proud of how far Akecheta has come – a doting, loving, protective Dad at age six. I also like to point out that the smallest chick on the West End nest is 4 days younger than the oldest. The youngest chick at Dale Hollow was only 3 days younger than the oldest.
This is an amazing image!
The eaglet on the Big Bear Valley nest was left alone this morning as Jackie and Shadow appeared to be on high alert.
While everyone is anxiously awaiting and mapping the return of the UK Ospreys on charts, graphs, and maps, thousands are awaiting the arrival of the oldest female Osprey in the world, Iris, from her winter migration. Her spring and summer home is the Clark-Fork River area of Missoula Montana and her nest is on a platform a parking area of the Riverside Clinic. Workers have been busy putting up fencing so no one will get too close to the nest and frighten Iris away.
At the SWFlorida nest of Harriet and M15, E20 officially fledged yesterday, the 22nd of March.
E20 had fludged after E19 fledged on the 21st. Congratulations to the SWFlorida Bald Eagle nest for two successful fledges and a fantastic year. Thank you to the D Pritchett family for caring so much for their eagles and for allowing us to enjoy watching their daily lives.
At the Redding Bald Eagle nest of Liberty and Guardian, the parents are celebrating the successful hatch of chick # 2 at 08:47 this morning, the 23rd of March. Chick #1 hatched on the 20th.
In the wee hours of the Morning at the WRDC nest in the Miami Zoo, R1 was accidentally pushed off the nest. I have no further news on the status of R1 at this time. Will update later if there is news.
R1 was spotted at the base of the tree. It then flew – yes, flew! – to an adjoining tree! R1 is fine. Not to be left behind, R2 the only eaglet on the nest at 12:30 is appearing to want to join its sibling. Wow. This is all good news!
The surviving oldest eaglet on the Duke Farms nest is continuing to do very well.
Lots of people are busy watching the Sauces Bald Eagle cam hoping for that pip! Jak and Audacity are getting anxious, too!
It was announced that there will be a live chat with Dr. Sharpe today on bald eagles on the islands, restoration, nesting, at 2 pm Eastern/11 am Pacific on the Live Chat Channel https://youtu.be/4nSIhl1fOFk
I want to end this here so that you have an opportunity to know about Dr Sharpe’s talk.
It is 11:37 nest time at Dale Hollow. No prey brought in yet. Middle flapping its wings.
Thank you so much for joining me this morning. I will have a late report today. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams: Redding Bald Eagles, Explore.org and the Institute of Wildlife Studies, Cornell Bird Lab and RTH, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Duke Farms, Friends of Big Bear Valley, SWFlorida and D Pritchett, WRDC, Cornell Bird Lab and the Montana Osprey project, and Dale Hollow Eagles.
We had more snow last night – not a lot. But the humidity this morning is impacting the key pad on my computer. Has that ever happened to you? It is driving me crazy.
Oh, my goodness. Out in Bird World there are lots of storms moving through. One of them, with winds gusting to 46 mph, went through Captiva during the night. Lena held on tight and kept both of her babies safe.
By the time Andy brought the very first fish to his family things were a lot calmer.
It is still a bit windy. You can see Lena’s feathers blowing. Aren’t the feathers on Middle and Little gorgeous?
There is another storm system that is going to impact almost all of the nests we have been watching as it moves east – save for those nests in the West.
In the Kisatchie National Forest, home to the Bald Eagles Anna and Louis and their eaglet of 2022, Kincaid, they are waiting for the very severe weather shown in the top map to hit any moment. Kincaid is already finishing his breakfast.
Kincaid loves the wind and is flapping all over the nest as the storm approaches. Kincaid, wait! No branching today.
The storm has hit. Anna and Louis will be perched in nearby trees. Kincaid is hunkered down. Fantastic.
That same system is also going to impact the Dale Hollow nest where Middle DH15 needs big fish deliveries today. River stayed on the nest with the two during the night. I hope she returns with a huge fish so that the trauma DH15 endured yesterday does not happen again today. If you are wondering why it does not fight back, take a look at the difference in size. DH15 or Middle wants to survive, too.
Amanda777 posted the following video about the Dale Hollow nest yesterday.
I don’t know Amanda777 but in a comment on the video, she said, “This is a very strange nest”. Indeed, it is in so many ways. First, siblicide on a Bald Eagle nest appears to be very rare. This is supported by much academic research. To have the same Bald Eagle nest with the same parents have at least two incidents of violent siblicide is not normal. One might begin to wonder if the offspring are predisposed genetically? or is it this nest territory? the weather? intruders? available prey? gender of the siblings and birth order? the distinct type of parenting ? or the synergy of all the factors?
I asked a couple of eagle experts about the life expectancy of Bald Eagles in the wild. The general consensus is that it is about 20-24 years. Some do live longer. Many never reach their first birthday. Keeping that in mind and knowing that River and Obey are both supposed to be 24 years old also gives a different perspective. They are elderly. When siblicide happens, the biggest question is always ‘why’? Sadly it appears that the eagles are driven to breed whether they want to or not and to lay eggs, the number they do not seem to be able to control.
Obey has just landed on the nest alerting! Then River comes. It is 07:43. Oh, goodness. This is not a good start to the day!
It is nearly 010:30 and Big and Middle are still waiting for breakfast. This does not bode well unless this is an enormous fish when it comes. Fingers crossed.
At 10: 27:03 one of the parents flies in with an American Coot which it is plucking. Big is very hungry and is right up there. Middle is watching and listening but staying out of the way. Smart! Let Big go first. You will save yourself, Middle, if you do! (It is possible that this is Obey, the Dad, but I am not 100% sure. The feeding method is different).
The adult twists and turns plucking and maybe nibbling?? Middle is very attentive but no matter how hungry he is, he is looking like he knows to stay away from Big.
Well, would you look at this! Middle didn’t wait!!!!!!! He is right up there at the beak. I sure hope Big doesn’t get mad.
Big did get mad! Middle ducked and began moving along the rim away from the food. That appeared to satisfy Big who is extremely interested in the plucking.
Middle had a plan. He gets over to his normal spot on the rim and he turns and checks on Big. And then he makes his move.
Still watching Big very closely Middle moves around the rim of the nest.
He gets himself right up by Obey and he Dad starts feeding his boy some Coot. Middle really likes it.
Did I say Middle really likes Coot? He is practically under Dad’s head trying to get some more.
Middle is going to eat much more of this Coot than Big.
Can you see Middle’s crop?
At 11:00 Middle is still eating. It has been a half hour feed.
At 11:04 Obey is pulling out the stringy bloody bites and Middle wants them!
The feeding might have finished at 11:07 but Middle thinks that there could be a little more food and continues until 11:10. Both Big and Middle have gigantic crops!!!!!!! Seriously huge. Middle will be waddling around and sleeping on a cropzilla.
Middle did a PS at 11:11:13. These babies are so full. Life is good. Tears are rolling down my cheeks. Middle is getting strategic and that was a great meal.
A Bald Eagle nest with three sweet little babies that is thriving is the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta.
The winds have really calmed down for Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear Valley. They were practically blown off the nest yesterday. Little one had a wonderful early breakfast.
A quick check at the nest of Cornell’s Red tail Hawks, Big Red and Arthur and all is calm. Arthur has come to give Big Red a break. Isn’t he cute? Yesterday, Arthur brought a snake on to the nest. It’s true. He ate it while he was incubating the eggs!
Was the snake meant as a treat for Big Red? If so, she might not ever know.
I know that many of you fell in love with Harry, that young 4 year old dad that did so well on the MN-DNR nest last year. Well, Harry was busy packing the prey in the nest yesterday. Him and Nancy had their first pip of the 2022 season! I was expecting a hatch during the night or early morning. Waiting for word. Nancy is not giving a thing away!
Two of the three eggs have hatched at Pittsburgh-Hayes. Here is a great look at one of the recent feedings.
LM12 or as he is fondly called, Laddie, has been creating the nicest nest of all it seems. I wonder if Blue NC0 will like it when she arrives?
Maya and Blue 33 (11), two of my favourite Osprey parents, have been working on their nest and getting reacquainted after their winter migration. Blue 33 returned yesterday. Maya was home at Rutland Water on March 15. Last year the couple arrived within half an hour of one another.
While Maya and Blue 33 work on their nest, the three little Bobble heads of Thunder and Akecheta are just waking up and having breakfast. It is 06:27 on Catalina Island in California.
Liberty and Guardian are also waking up in Redding, California with their first hatch wanting breakfast. This was actually egg2 and it joined us at 21:24 on March 20th. Liberty has a nice big fish in the nest already.
At the Dulles Greenaway nest of Martin and Rosa, the wee babe is wide awake and Rosa moved so we could have a peek.
Sweet and sleepy.
There is so much happening in Bird World. I hope to get someone to do a quick cleaning of my laptop today. You might not hear from me until much later. Please send your warmest wishes to all of the nests and, in particular, Dale Hollow. Middle did fantastic this morning! Joyful tears. We just need this to continue.
Thank you so much for joining me. Take care.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Captiva Osprey and Window on Wildlife, KNF Bald Eagles, Dale Hollow Bald Eagles, Cornell RTH, Dulles-Greenway Eagles, LRWT, Woodland Trust and Loch of the Lowes, Pix Cams, MN DNR, Friends of Big Bear Valley, and CNN Weather Tracker.
Note: I have not included any graphic images of the early afternoon events. If you have watched this nest you will understand the ways in which Big has attacked Middle – leaning over it, pecking and pulling at its head. The day began and ended well.
It has not been a good afternoon for the Middle chick at the Dale Hollow Bald Eagle nest. DH15. It ate well at the 06:43:46 feeding and again at 08:34.30. While it is true that Bald Eagles do not have to eat every day, Middle is a chick on the nest and should be getting regular feedings in order to develop properly and have good feathering. Stress causes what is known as ‘stress lines in feathers’. What Bald Eagles want are healthy strong chicks with excellent feathering.
Big was set off when River only brought in a fish head at 12:54:06. Middle did not get any of the fish head but was attacked on two separate occasions with Big maintaining an intimidating posture. Indeed, even after Big ate it went after Middle. That was 13:12:30.
River came in and fed scrapes and an old fish tail to Big at 14:25:11.
HD15 Middle has been prey crying.
At 16:51 a small headless fish is brought to the nest by Obey. River arrives shortly after at 16:53:07. Big attacks Middle at 16:53:59 Middle does not get any fish.
At 17:21:06 Middle sits up. Big looks at him. At 17:21:07 Big attacks Middle for just getting up. It is very clear that Big now perceives that there is only enough fish for it. Middle has had enough fish. She is however continuing to intimidate Middle so that he will not eat. Will more fish arrive today? A huge fish to calm Big? We wait.
At 18:27 the chicks appear to hear ‘something’. They become alert. Big still has quite a crop. Middle has no crop. At 18:30 Obey arrives on the nest with a large headless fish —— just like Bald Eagle dads do. They eat the head and bring the body to the Mum and the chicks.
Big begins to eat. Middle is keeping its head down. He is hungry but also very scared.
Middle is trying out strategies. It wants to go between River’s legs like it did in the morning where it can eat and be protected.
Middle winds up, however, going on the left side of River where she feeds him. He is protected from Big!
Middle gets fed well.
Big gets some more bites.
Middle moves and River steps on its back.
This scares Middle. He does not appear hurt but he moves away.
Slowly he returns to eat.
Big is full and Middle continues to be fed by River.
Big is too full and lays down to sleep. 18:58.
Middle gets the last bites. That big fish was completely consumed.
It is really good for Middle when fish, large enough for both, come on the nest. Remember the size of the eaglets. More larger fish will be needed on this nest, not fewer. Middle is learning some devices to protect itself and eat – eating between River’s legs and going to the opposite side where Big is. Let us all send warm wishes and positive thoughts to this nest so that the fish – big ones – continue on this nest. It looks like they need four large fish a day to keep the nest stable. We still have to take this nest a meal at a time and enjoy the good times. At some point Middle will, hopefully, be large enough that Big leaves it alone.
Thank you for joining me. It was a good beginning of the day at Dale Hollow and a good ending. Take care Everyone.
Thank you to the Dale Hollow streaming cam where I took my screen captures.
What a busy day it was in Bird World and what a gorgeous day it was on the Canadian Prairies. The snow is melting and causing all manner of problems but the Canada Geese are flying in, the Grackles have arrived in mass, and the first White-throated Sparrow appeared at the feeders along with the usual woodpeckers, European Starlings, House Sparrows and, of course, Dyson! We had another visitor too that seems to be coming every morning around 08:00, an unusual time for a rabbit. I wonder if Hedwig’s burrow is full of water????
Hedwig is an Eastern Cottontail. They are the most prevalent of the five rabbit species in Canada. The four others are the Artic Hare, the Mountain Hare, White-tailed Jackrabbit, and the Snowshoe Hare.
Hedwig being an Easteern Cottontail is the smallest of the five. His mother left him underneath our Peony Bush. He was about a month old. He found safety with all of the birds feeding and discovered that if he hung out under the feeders, he never had to worry about food. We have tried to give him carrots and he refuses them. He often eats the bark off of our Lilac Bushes where he can easily hide. We don’t care. It doesn’t seem to damage them. Isn’t he a cutie? He has some special marks on him that we know it is the original Hedwig. Let us hope he has another good year.
There is a pip/hatch watch going on at the Pittsburg-Hayes Bald Eagle nest. This couple fledged three last year! The pip happened at 09:39 this morning.
There was a good look at the size of the pip at 19:21.
Liberty and Guardian have a pip over at the Redding California Bald Eagle Nest. That happened around 07:04. There is a race between them and Pittsburgh-Hayes to see who hatches first! They also fledged three!
This morning on the SWFlorida Nest on the Pritchett Family Farm, E19 the eldest, fledged before noon. It was caught on camera by a couple filming the event. E20 was flapping, too, and the streaming cam operator did not know who would go first. Talk about sibling competition between these two. E20 did not have a very solid branch like E19 did who used it like a trampoline jumping up and down and flapping. As a result, E20 fludged and then flew away. Both flew like the great birds they are on 20th of March. How lovely. Congratulations to M15 and Harriet and the Pritchett family for another successful year. The fledglings will hang around with mom and dad. They will perfect their flying while being provided food. This is what it is all about.
Here is E19s fledge:
The cameras are down and I do not know if anyone caught E20’s flight. What a day for them to go down.
Well, this is a great way to feed chicks if you have three! Akecheta is feeding the Middle chick while Mum Thunder feeds Little Bit and Big. I wish you could see the smile on my face. Look at the size between the two Thunder is feeding. Little Bit is four days younger than Big. There are no squabbles.
Thunder and Akecheta are – to me – a real powerhouse couple. They may have had two unsuccessful years until Akecheta matured but just look at them now.
Andy came in at 17:28 with the last fish of the day for Lena, Middle and Little. It has been some time since Big died suddenly. The nest is doing really well. There is no word on the cause of Big’s death. I do not wish to speculate but had it been a physical cause like choking on a pellet, the vets would have found that immediately when they did the necroscopy. Toxin tests take longer. In the Balkans, the tests for Avian Flu only took a few days and – all the birds on this nest are fine. I wonder if any raptors die of heat stroke or heart attack? Do you know?
This was the 4th feeding for the osplets and it was a whole Sheepshead. Middle and Little ate and ate. In the image below, just look at how beautiful they are standing with Lena, a very proud Mama. That beautiful setting son casts a lovely glow on this Osprey family at Captiva, Florida.
The eaglets of Abby and Blazer (Eagle Country) hatched on the 11th and 14th of March. Just look at them now. Wow. Gorgeous babies. Nice crops. Both appear to be self-feeding.
If River and Obey do not stop bringing fish to the nest and feeding Big and Middle, I am not ever going to be able to take a walk! All kidding aside. It has been one big fish fest at the Dale Hollow Nest today which is the miracle that we were all hoping to see happen. This should be the last of many feedings at this nest today.
This fish arrival is at 18:19:36. Here comes River!
River has not started her feeding. Just look at the crop on Big. This eaglet is going to be an enormous female. And I really do mean enormous. The size of its legs are huge. I wish we could get a good comparison between Big and Mum.
Middle is still very shy of Big. I do not blame him. Big eats the first bites but River just then decides to put her beak in the middle of the two and sees who wants the fish. It also appears that River has slowed down in the speed of her feeding.
Once Big is full, Middle begins accepting bites. Remember – the key is survival. Middle has eaten and eaten today and it is not going to do a thing to wake up Big’s wrath.
Middle eats and eats. By 18:35 his crop is so big you might think it is going to explode. River continues to push fish at him.
At 18:35:38 Middle is so full he walks away from the table! He simply cannot hold another bite. It looks like he might not be able to hold up that crop.
Middle has to try and lay down. It must be awfully uncomfortable with that massive crop.
But wait! Middle stands up.
And with a crop as big as half a baseball, Middle turns around to head back to the table to the shock of Big.
As he turns, Big reaches over to pull off the piece of straw across Middle’s crop. Middle is a little shy and doesn’t seem to know if this is a friendly or hostile gesture. I don’t blame him. The gesture is friendly.
Both kiddos eat a couple of more bites and collapse. They are certainly going to have sweet eagle dreams! And so am I!
I have focused on the Dale Hollow Lake nest with more information than the other nests because it had been so full of strife. My mailbox has been full of questions and you might be wondering about some of these.
Where is DH16? When a nestling dies, Eagles either consume the dead chick, bury it in the nest, or carry it off. River buried DH16 in the nest last night, the 19th of March.
Why such a change in this nest? There are many possible reasons and my answers are based on a large body of academic literature. 1) Threats and intruders to the territory of River and Obey have diminished and they are able to focus on hunting and feeding. 2) Fishing and hunting have greatly improved for the eagles. There could be many causes for this including the most obvious weather. 3) The reduction of the brood was accomplished. 4) Middle was able to garner enough energy to show that it was determined to live and River took notice of this and is now feeding it. 5) Some or all of the above. One reader ‘B’ suggested that maybe River and Obey had read by blog about needing to have a spare in case Big died! That is a good point with Avian Flu tearing through the region.
Whatever has happened, we have had a wonderful 36 hours and let us all hope that this continues. Things are going very well. Big has calmed right down. The fact that so many fish were brought in today and another found buried on the nest kept Big full and happy and allowed Middle to gain confidence and to eat its fill. Middle will literally grow over night. I am sure many of you have been shedding tears of joy. I sure have.
Will close with Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear Valley. Five feedings for the little eaglet today! The baby is eating longer and more fish and the feedings are slowly decreasing because of that. The naming contest closes on March 25 and several names will be drawn out of those suggested by donors. The 3rd grade class at the local school will vote. Hopefully this cutie will have a name next week!
Life in Bird World has been very good today. Very, very good.
Thank you so much for joining me. Please take care. See you soon!!!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screencaptures: Friends of Big Bear Valley, West End Eagles and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, Dale Hollow Eagles, Pix Cams, Redding Eagles, Eagle Country, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife.
In my earlier blog today, I reported on two feedings at Dale Hollow where River reaches out, both times, to encourage Middle DH15 to eat. You can read about it here with other Bird World news:
Middle is getting more confidence and it is hungry. Middle still needs to have more feedings as its crop is not nearly as big as Big’s.
But, at 13:19:27 a miracle happened. River had recently landed on the nest. Big and Middle were over by the rail. Middle on the side closest to Mum. Middle began cheeping for food. Without any direction from River, Middle began walking over to the prey area where River feeds. River fed Middle the remaining fish and some scraps from the morning!!!!!!! I simply could not stop the tears from flowing. We are not out of the woods at this nest by a long shot but, we will take all these golden moments and celebrate.
These images need little narration.
We see Middle moving cautiously up to Mum, River.Our brave little one wants some fish.
At the beginning it is snatch and grab. Later the feeding calms down. Middle takes some big bites of that good fish.
River seems happy to take the fish and feed it to Middle, too.
Middle continues to eat. Big never goes up to the table and there is really no confrontation between them over the food.
At 1:33:02, the fish is finished.
Continue sending your warm wishes to this nest and also wish for fish! The more fish, the more feedings, the more stable this nest will become!
Thank you to the Dale Hollow Eagle streaming cam where I took my screen captures.
