Tag Archives: KNF eagles

Late Sunday Afternoon in Bird World

06 March 2022

The first hatch at Big Bear Valley, the nest of Bald Eagles Jackie and Shadow, has had five feedings so far. The first was at 05:51 followed by 07:57, 09:06, 10:15, and the last one, just finished, at 13:24. The wee one is doing so well and already looks like it has doubled its size in just three days (or nearly). The wee chick did its first poop shot (ps) at 10:15:59 demonstrating that all of its plumbing is working.

The eagles are restless today. Jackie is currently being very careful to roll that second egg. With the wet straw in the egg cup, it is difficult to tell if there is a pip or a pip and a crack.

Here are some images from the Big Bear nest of Jackie and Shadow from the late morning to early afternoon for you to enjoy.

Shadow helped Jackie with the feeding at 10:15 and took over brooding and incubation duties much to his delight. Shadow will remain on the nest until Jackie returns at 13:19. They will then both feed the wee chick.

Both adults have been staring at the chick and the egg and moving ever so slowly around the nest. I love how they back off the egg and chick so they can see them. They could, so easily, step all over everything if they got off incubation/brooding by moving forward. If you watch, they are ever so careful with their big feet and talons.

Oh, what a big yawn!

Do you see anything like a pip or a crack on this egg?

Both help with the 13:24 feed. You can hear the Corvids in the background. That must frighten Jackie and Shadow alerting them that they have to be ever so careful about coming and going from the nest – making sure that someone is always home.

The chick is eating much bigger bites than yesterday. Look how big it is compared to the egg. That is how much this wee babe has grown in 70 hours.

The nestling eats small pieces of the meat or fish along with saliva from the parents and juice from the prey items. This provides much needed antibodies and nutrients as well as electrolytes. Electrolytes keep our bodies balanced, in terms of fluids and in terms of salt and sugar. if you have dehydrated animals, electrolytes are given like an IV to rehydrate. They are essential for a healthy system.

This chick is getting fed approximately 8-10 feedings each day.

Such a good baby.

The egg has been rolled several times. Did it pick up wet and dirty straw that has clung to it so that we think it is a pip or a crack? I wonder. Big Bear has not announced a pip on the second egg.

Adorable. Jackie is such a proud Mama. She takes over from Samson and lets him have a much needed break. Meanwhile, the weather is just so much better than yesterday.

Other Bird World News:

The Pied Cormorant is still hanging around Dad’s perch at the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge.

The trio at Captiva Osprey nest have been enjoying a nice afternoon fish that arrived sometime around 14:15.

Everyone will stagger away with a nice big crop and be rehydrated. They are hot in that Florida sun.

The two nestlings at Duke Farms Bald Eagle nest are doing just fine.

Anna and Louis have been spending a lot more time with Kincaid over the last week. It will not be long til this 8 week old eaglet is branching and before we know it, Kincaid will fledge. These are adorable parents. It has been a real privilege watching them take care of Kincaid.

Jasper and NE27 continue to do well. NE27 is so far ahead of Jasper on the self-feeding but slowly, ever so slowly, Jasper is catching on. I hope that we have a name for NE27 this coming week. That would be super. Beautiful eagles out of the NEFlorida nest of Samson and Gabby.

Just a few hours ago E20 branched up to the Veranda at the SWFlorida nest of Harriet and M15. Now both eaglets have branched. It will not be long until these two fledge.

Lady Hawk caught the branching in a short video:

Thank you so much for joining me for this end of the day nest check on Sunday. Everything is fine. Our sweet Ervie has not been back to the barge and continues to hang out around the North shore. I hope he is enjoying every mouthful of fish that he catches. Oh, the joy he brought us. I wish he would just take a quick fly over to the barge and hang out for a bit. I bet you do, too. Take care all. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Friends of Big Bear Valley, NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, KNF Bald Eagles, and Duke Farms.

NE27 is pipping and other Bird World News

Oh, the sun is so bright this morning! It is beautiful and, at the same time, it is cold. We have another extreme cold warning. That is the problem with sunny days. If it is cloudy, it is normally warmer. The birds are already coming in waiting for the feeders to be filled.

NE26 continues to do really well and Samson has piled on the fish for Gabby and 26. NE27 is now working its way through that shell with its egg tooth and there is a confirmed pip.

NE26, are you going to be nice to your younger sibling?

This is the state of the pip at 13:00. You can sometimes see the beak moving under the shell.

Gorgeous Gabby. The morning snow casts a beautiful golden glow on our Mum.

Berry College eaglet. The eaglet is bright-eyed this morning. Its left wing was stepped on yesterday when something frightened Missy and she stumbled getting up. B15 is eating fine this morning although I would feel a whole lot better if Pa Berry had more filled pantry.

A quick check on the eaglet at the Kisatchie National Forest nests shows that it is another expected 10-feeding day! The eaglet weights about 1 kg or 2 pounds now with the weight on its bottom area. You can see this easily from the image below.

E19 and E20 had a lesson in plucking before breakfast this morning! M15 arrives with a mystery bird and Harriet lines the babies up to watch. E19 and E20 had just finished up the last of what looked like a squirrel before the bird’s arrival.

R1 and R2 have their thermal down, like E19 and E20. They have both eaten today and other than some scary moments with the kidlets looking over the edge of the nest things appear to be much the same. R2 has learned to remain submissive until R1 is finished eating.

In the image below both of the eaglets, now 3 weeks old, are enjoying the sunshine and the really mild 14 degree C temperatures.

We are on the countdown to the arrivals of the Osprey in the UK. 49 days now. The staff at the nature centres are busy getting ready, making sure the streaming cams are working, and just looking forward to their arrival as it also marks the beginning of spring.

A new Osprey platform has arrived at Lyn Brenig in Wales. I have seen no word on any arrests of the individual/s who cut the pole down and frightened the Ospreys last season.

In the garden, the European Starlings and Dyson seem to have a truce. Dyson sits and eats on what is left of the big seed cylinder and the Starlings are eating off the ground and a smaller one. Meanwhile, the sparrows finally get to eat out of the flat feeder while the chickadee flits back and forth stealing seeds when it can.

Dyson has been eating for about two hours. His thick fur is keeping him warm in our -40 temperatures (with the wind chill). He is a real sweetheart…yes, you are Dyson.

The colours in the Starlings are nothing short of beautiful. In the sunshine, everything turns beautiful iridescent colours. In the shade, the patterns range from caramel to rust with some blue and green . Their beaks are so long. These two have already managed to remove all of the meal worms! Cheeky.

I hope the Starlings stay all year. They have really brought some life to the garden.

I will continue to monitor NE27s progress towards hatching and will check in on Ervie several times if he is on the barge. In the meantime, Daisy the Duck seems to have found another spot for her eggs. Or will she land on the WBSE nest the minute I post this blog? There seems to be no recent news on Annie and Grinnell and this time ‘no news’ is going to be taken as ‘good news’. For those of you following the illnesses that have beset the dogs walking on the Yorkshire beaches, the historic deaths of crustaceans and sea birds, it appears that the cause has been found. It is the dredging up of toxins that were once dumped in the area. In Manitoba we are very familiar with this as the dredging of land to build the northern dams to produce electricity for the south of the province have caused the water – drinking, in lakes, and in ponds – to not be able to be used for at least two decades if not more. This is very sad as the marine life and sea birds continue to die off the coast of northwest England. If you haven’t already, please submit your name for the Kisatchie eaglet. The deadline is 30 January. The three names most mentioned will form the short list from which the winner will be chosen at the end of the first week of February. I will keep you posted. You can send your suggestions to: nameknfeagle@gmail.com

Thank you so much for joining me today. Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen captures: NEFlorida and the AEF, Berry College, SWFlorida and D Pritchett, Brenig Osprey Project, KNF, and the WRDC.