Since Legacy fledged on 26 April, returned, and then left the nest at 9:53:51 on the 28th, I have worried – like so many others – about where she was and if she was alright. Was she injured? did she get chased from the territory by smaller birds? Samson and Gabby came to the nest tree with fish and called – they spent hours scanning the top of the trees for a sight of their Legacy. We just wanted to get one more glimpse of the most beautiful Bald Eagle who had survived Avian Pox and who had grown up just to be a magnificent eagle. Stunning. We wanted to know that she was alright – that nothing had happened to her! She was given the name ‘Legacy’ because she would carry on the lineage from Romeo and Juliet, her grandparents, who had hatched Samson in that very same nest in Jacksonville. How could she just be gone? poof!
Yesterday, I was certain that Legacy did a flyby at 9:35:15. In the 47 seconds it took for Samson to get to the nest tree, Legacy was gone. Has their timing just been bad?
One of my eagle experts tells me that the fledglings have to ‘imprint’ the way back to the natal nest.
This morning Legacy returned to her natal tree at 10:41:31. It is the first time in three days that one or both of her parents were not sitting on the Lookout Branch trying to locate her! Legacy spent the day calling. During this time individuals noticed that she had done a couple of crop drops and she also did a ‘ps’. There is some yellow – the ps should be white – indicating slight dehydration according to my eagle expert.
I thought her call sounded hoarse but I am a worrisome auntie of this beautiful bird. She waited on the nest all day long and is, as I write, looking out over the trees from the Lookout Branch. I hope she spends the night in her nest resting and that Samson and Gabrielle return in the morning with a nice big fish for Legacy’s breakfast.
And, of course, we are all now worrying where the parents are! If anyone told you Bird World was serene and peaceful, they were joking!
Sibling #2 at the Achieva Osprey nest fledged – and I should have been jumping up and down with joy but, I was consumed with Legacy. That fledge took place at 6:57:10. It was a really nice take off but 2 almost taloned Tiny ‘Biggie’ Tot with a rather undignified return landing at 7:04:43.
Barbara Snyder put together an 8 minute video of the take off, the wait, and the landing. Here it is:
Tiny ‘Biggie’ Tot the Raptor has eaten and grown and eaten and grown today. I will never forget this bird for the hilarious poses with its full crop. Today there were a few more of those to enjoy. Everyone can rest easy. Tiny ‘Biggie’ Tot is full. Here is one of those funny crop shots.
The two little ones at the Estonia White-tailed Eagle nest of Eve and Eerik are growing and they love their feedings. Both of them really perk up when Eve gets up and announces it is meal time. So far there is nothing to worry about on this nest! Whew.
The two osplets on The Landings Skidaway Island Osprey nest were alright this morning. I am so used to the nests having food in the pantry that I get a little nervous checking on this nest. That lack of fish has caused the older sibling to have some food security issues. Things were peaceful when I checked in several times this morning and right after lunch. They were, however, hoping for a fish delivery when the image below was taken. You can see that the smaller one, at the back, does not have a crop.
Well, there are no food insecurities of any kind in San Francisco. The three eyasses of Annie and Grinnell have the ‘food thing’ all figured out. They are even grabbing at the prey when it is delivered breaking off chunks and eating them! These three are incredible. Self-feeding 101.
I so wanted to get a good image of Tiger and Lily Rose, the two owlets of Bonnie and Clyde, who took over the Bald Eagle nest on a farm near Newton, Kansas. They have thrived under the great care of their parents. Both have been introduced to eating mice, then snake, graduating to rabbit, and birds. There is a rumour floating around that they had a tug-o-war with a snake yesterday. I am so sorry I missed that – it would have been hilarious.
Images taken from a streaming cam are deceiving. Sometimes the angle makes a part of the owl’s body look larger than it actually is – or smaller. I remember viewers of the White-Bellied Sea Eagle cam horrified that the right foot of WBSE 26 was swollen to three or four times its normal size. It was, simply, the angle of the camera. Because Tiger and Lily Rose are in this huge nest – 2 metres wide – they appear small. Their round feathers that will allow them to fly in silence look so soft. Someone told me today that they really just wanted to pick one of them up and cuddle it. What do you think? wise idea?
Bonnie and Clyde will feed Tiger and Lily Rose in the nest and off. They will continue this even though Tiger and Lily are catching their own food and until such time as the two little ones leave the territory.
The trio at the Pittsburg Hayes Bald Eagle nest were having their afternoon siesta when a cute little red squirrel decided he would climb the nest tree and take a peek to see what was inside that big nest. Oh, my. Good thing he got away quick – he would have been a nice snack!
Harry spent a long time with the two eaglets that hatched on the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Bald Eagle cam five weeks ago. This evening he came roaring in and, of course, the eaglets thought food delivery.
But there was nothing between those talons. So Harry went to check in the pantry and couldn’t find anything either.
It’s 8:20 pm. It is wonderful that the daylight lasts so much longer now than it did in the winter. Harry might just have time to grab a fish or maybe that is what Nancy is doing right now – hunting.
Things on the nest calmed down. If you look at the eaglet on the far left you will notice that it has a crop. These kiddos can wait til morning if nothing arrives now. They are fine. The parents are a super team and this is not a nest that I worry about. They had a nice big feed of fish earlier. You can see that big crop on the little one sitting by Nancy (below).
Big Red is still incubating three eggs. When you want something to happen, time just seems to drag. Simply cannot wait for the hatch of these little ones. You talk about amazing avian parents – Big Red and Arthur are it! Hands down.
Arthur has spoiled me. I am used to seeing an egg cup lined with prey just ready for Big Red to grab it and feed the the eyasses. I cannot even imagine an empty pantry.
In closing, I want to brag a little. The Newfoundland Power Company set up a number of Osprey nests. One is called the Snow Lane Nest and I will leave the link so you can check on that nest. The resident male Osprey, Beaumont, just returned to Canada on 30 April.
The camera was launched on 29 May 2019 but the story began three years earlier when Newfoundland Power was contacted by Rob Bierregaard of Drexel University in Pennsylvania. Drexel had an interest in tagging some of the osprey hatchlings from Newfoundland so their migratory journey to and from South America could be plotted. The Newfoundland Osprey are believed to winter at the border of Columbia and Venezula. One of those Ospreys was Shanawdithit. That name was bestowed on the Osprey as a memorial to the last known living member of the Beothuk people. The Beothuk are the original inhabitants of Newfoundland. Shanawdithit is a female and she was tagged. Shanawdithit had an unnamed partner so the power company held a competition for the name. A grade 5 student, Aurora Hickey, picked the name Beaumont. That name is a tribute to the Newfoundland regiment that was almost completely wiped out on 1 July 1916, in France during Word War I, the Beaumont-Hamel. Sadly, Shanawdithit did not return in 2018 but it was too late for Beaumont to find another mate. In 2019, Beaumont bonded with Hope. They raised one chick in 2019 and two in 2020. Beaumont is waiting to welcome Hope back to Newfoundland now.
And that is a wrap. It has been a day of waiting. So instead of worrying about Legacy, we will all begin to worry about Samson and why there is no fish on the nest for his beautiful fledgling. I promise – we will worry til he flies up and surprises Legacy. I hope their timing is good tomorrow!
Thank you so much for joining me. Stay safe. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Thank you to the following you supplied the streaming cams where I took my screen shots: NEFlorida Bald Eagle and the AEF, Achieva Credit Union, Eagle Club of Estonia, Cornell Bird Lab and Skidaway Audubon, UC Falcon Cam, Farmer Derek, Hays Pittsburg Bald Eagle Cam, MN DNR, Cornell Bird Lab, and Newfoundland Power Company.