Tag Archives: N24 needs your help

Quick Check in: N24 and KNF

As you are aware, there is concern for little N24 because it has Avian Pox. This was noted on the 20th of February by the American Eagle Federation and reported by them on 28 February. Others had seen the lesions on the face and talons of N24. To be clear, there is no cure for Avian Pox. The symptoms can range from mild to severe, the worst causing death. AP affects all birds, not just eagles. Many overcome the disease to live normal lives. Some, however, die because of secondary infections or compromises after the disease to their ability to eat or hunt prey. It is absolutely unclear how severe this disease will be for the little eaglet in the NE Florida nest, N24. It is now 23 days old. It is approximately 27 degrees at The Hamlet, hot and humid. In another posting called N24 Needs Your Help there is information on who to contact if you are concerned. At least one eagle on a streaming cam has had Avian Pox and an intervention took place. There is a misunderstanding that the nest in question was a research nest. The suggestion is only for an intervention if absolutely necessary. In nest with its parents is the best place for N24.

N24 had a reasonably good breakfast and was, this afternoon, playing with a small piece of food on the nest. It is extremely windy. Both Gabby and N24 are waiting for a food delivery.

N24 having breakfast 1 March 2021. @AEF and Audubon Society
N24 playing with an old piece of food. 1 March 2021. @AEF and Audubon Society
N24 with Gabby. 1 March 2021. @AEF and Audubon Society

N24 ate well at 1:40 pm nest time.

1 March 2021. 1:40 pm. N24 eating well. @AEF and Audubon Society

At 4pm the lesion on the left side of the beak appears larger. It is hot and N24 is panting. Awaiting food delivery at 4pm.

It is pitching down rain at the KNF nest in central Lousiana today. That mother is doing an exceptional job to keep that little one dry. The little eaglet hatched on 23 February 2021. It is six days old today. The first time mother and the little one are getting much better at feeding and eating.

Having breakfast at the KNF nest before the rains start. Let’s hope the rain stops so the little one can have a nice late lunch!

Thank you for doing this quick check in on these two nests. Everyone send positive thoughts to little cutie pie, N24 so that he can heal quickly. We all want him back to his healthy self playing with the pinecone and sitting on ‘his egg’.

Little N24 needs your help

N24 having breakfast 28 February 2021

The concern over the lesions that appeared on N24’s beak and now the appearance of the Avian Pox blisters on the little one’s feet has prompted an outpouring of concern.

Eight days after first noticing the lesions, the American Eagle Federation (AEF) issued a statement. That statement followed letters written by ‘concerned members of the public’ to both the Audubon Society and the AEF, the partners in the NE Florida Eagle Cam. At the same time, Lady Hawk edited a video showing the lesions. It was clear from the growing number of public comments to that video and to postings on FaceBook that there is a clear perception that certain Bald Eagle nests in Florida receive preferential treatment over others. People are asking for an intervention at the NEFL nest or, at the least, to get the permissions in place should the wildlife rehabbers have to act quickly.

Many have said that there can be no intervention because Avian Pox is not human caused. However, that is not the case. A Bald Eagle named Buddy, born in 2008, was removed from its nest because it had Avian Pox. Permission was granted by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Here is the report from the Wild Life Center on Buddy’s intervention:

https://www.wildlifecenter.org/critter-corner/current-patients/buddy?fbclid=IwAR13Fpgkoz1PLb5B2b8sQikbcLAf82X8E2KmBIwjdLuAreOIr24O8BNnLYI

Both the Audubon Society and the American Eagle Federation have an obligation to protect and care for the birds. Both organizations state this on their websites. I live in Canada and I would like not to think that one nest takes precedent over all the other nests. And I would not like to think that an opportunity was missed to help a little eaglet heal. There is no cure for Avian Pox. But there are treatments for the secondary infections that often occur. If you are reading this and feel so inclined, please send an e-mail to Shawnlei Breeding. Her e-mail is: eaglewatch@audubon.org Request that she insist that the USFWS permit an urgent intervention – should it become necessary at the NE Florida nest – to save N24s life. Thank you.

I want to add that while the lesions continue to grow on the unfeathered parts of N24, the little eaglet is eating well and has good ps. I want very much for cutie pie’s immune system to work overtime and for the little eaglet’s system to help it heal itself. It is better for all concerned if this happens. That said, a qualified veterinarian along with the gifted wildlife rehabbers in the region will know when it is time for an intervention or, if we are lucky, that one is not necessary. The point is getting the permissions in place to act swiftly, if necessary.

It is about breakfast time in The Hamlet and little N24, who is three weeks old today, is waiting not so patiently for Samson to finish de-furring a squirrel for breakfast. Yum!

N24 loves to play with things in the nest and, in particular, his ‘friend Pinecone’.

Thank you for stopping by. I really appreciate your interest and your concern for the welfare of all of the world’s wildlife. As someone said to me earlier today, ‘we used to check for gas in the coal mines by sending in a canary.’ That dear eighty-three year old woman affirmed her belief that humans are only healthy when the rest of the non-human world is taken care of, respected, and well. She pondered what kind of a world would humans have if all of the birds started getting sick and dying.

Scaps taken from the live streaming cam at the NEFL Eagle nest provided by the Audubon Society and the AEF.