26 February 2022
Good Morning Everyone!
Saturday was a huge surprise with the revolving door deliveries at the SWFlorida nest. Just when we worried because of the female’s presence, M15 brought in lots of prey. And once, ‘she’ fed E21 and only once did she get in the nest.
The day started well for the eaglets, E21 and 22. M15 has delivered two fish to the nest. The first was an Armoured Catfish, but the second appeared to be a normal catfish. E21 had a crop, and E22 is working hard on that second fish!
The second fish arrives at 1100. I thought that Dad might feed the eaglets, but he keeps the female away from the nest by doing food drops.
After 21 eats their portion, 22 takes the fish. The time is 1142.
22 kept working on that piece of fish until it was all gone. He is our little survivor!
Meanwhile, while 22 was working on that fish, Dad brought in more mysterious animal organs. E21 grabbed them and ate quickly. 22 didn’t even seem to notice! Time is 12:04.
We must celebrate these two eaglets. They are doing so well under the circumstances and Dad is just doing the absolute best he can for them.
At 13:10:49, M15 brings another nice fish to the nest for the eaglets. This time he is followed by R23-3 (Black Talon). Dad leaves her. Interestingly, while this female was hungry and ate most of that fish, she did feed 21 and didn’t seem to be mean about it. This is disheartening as the morning and yesterday had gone well without her.
By 1317, 22 decides he might get up there and get a few bites. I do not think 22 got any, but he had eaten much of the earlier fish. Still, you can see him moving his beak up. The lunch was finished at 13:19:40, and the female flew up to a branch above the nest.
Lady Hawk caught it in a video showing that the female was not all nice but, she did feed E21 some bites. Perhaps M15 was watching?
The prey items keep on coming. M15 brings in another fish to the eaglets at 15:38:09. 22 is right up there snatching and grabbing. He is very hungry and intends to get this fish!
Our Snatch and Grab King is not giving up on any of this fish even if Dad moves it around to also feed 21.
22 is getting so much fish. He will sleep well tonight and be good if nothing else comes to the nest today. Bravo, M15!
Dad also has a nice crop so he is also eating well today. Simply relief. I don’t know if there are medals for eagles figuring out complicated life circumstances, but M15 would surely be at the top of the list this year to receive one.
At 0800 on Sunday, M15 drops a live fish on the nest. E22 mantles and grabs it first but submits to 21 who eats it all!
It is not clear what happened next on the SW Florida nest Sunday morning.
At 09:15:57, the female with the injured talon, no longer black as the scab had come off, was on the nest with the eaglets. At 09:15:15, M15 had flown down into the nest. Did he want her to leave? Did he have fish? I could see he did not leave a meal, and the female remained in the nest. I suspect she thought there was some fish, and 21 had cleaned everything up. 21 finished eating that live fish at 0857.
Dad at the ND-LEEF Bald Eagle nest has been contending with a rather aggressive female since Mum disappeared earlier this month. It now seems that Dad and her are a couple. She’s a big girl!!!!!!!
People are fascinated by Bald Eagles buried in snow. This is Nancy at the MN-DNR nest.
This is what it was like at the eagle nest of Jackie and Shadow in Big Bear where the winter storm continues to rage.
Jackie and Shadow made The Los Angeles Times. Oh, they are so loved both in California and around the world. Again, if our love could help them, they would have a nest full of eaglets!
The weather is much different in Jacksonville, and V3 managed to get a fish on the nest, eat a few bites, and then Gabby came and claimed it. No talons were injured this time, and well done, V3. What a guy you are keeping security watch while Gabby eats. V3, you are fantastic.
No eggs at The Hamlet but HD and HM (Hatchery Dad and Mum) at Decorah welcomed their first egg on Saturday. Congratulations Iowa! Talk about a handsome eagle couple!
For those of you following the love triangle saga at Centreport, New York, ‘H’ tells me that Mum has been mating with D4 and that Mum also mounted D-5. Yes, you read that right. Will we have a lover’s triangle on Long Island?
‘H’ confirms also that Angus and Florence mated ten times on Saturday! Angust brought four fish gifts. One is the Talipia in the image below. Now..when will we have eggs on that nest?
B16 is 35 days old today. Wow. Those eaglets (B16, Connick, Ringo, the ones at KNF) are getting so big and grown up.
Ringo, the lone surviving eaglet, is strengthening her legs and wings! Doing well in Webster, Texas.
More and more postings are showing raptors in rehab because of rodenticide poisoning. When will these designer poisons be banned? Let the raptors do their job and have food without the fear of death!
Did Jack come too close to the eggs with his fish delivery for Diane? Heidi Mc caught it on video!
Sweet Pea is in the post-guard phase for those who follow the Royal Cam Albatross. I do not recall a little Albie wandering from the nest so early, but there he goes (yes, I believe it is a ‘him’ this time). What a brave and independent baby this year!
And last, but absolutely never least, Big Red and Arthur have been on the Fernow Light stand building a nest! Aren’t they beautiful? Arthur will deliver and you can count on Big Red doing the supervising! (She also delivers sticks).
Big Red and Arthur’s 2023 hatch L4 – who no one believed would survive – is still living on the parental territory without any issues from Mum and Dad.
Here is the link to Big Red and Arthur’s camera on the Cornell Campus in Ithaca, New York. This is one of less than a handful of streaming cams focusing on the lives of Red-tail Hawks. Big Red is 20 this year.
https://www.youtube.com/live/ndnr3bwdRzE?feature=share
Thank you so much for being with me this Sunday morning. Take care, everyone. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their notes, their videos, tweets, posts, and streaming cams that make up my blog this morning: ‘H’, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Lady Hawk and SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Stephen Basly and the Notre Dame Eagles, The Sacramento Bee, FOBBV, The Los Angeles Times, NEFL-AEF, Raptor Resource Project and Explore.org, Window to Wildlife, Berry College Eagles, Paul White and the Webster Texas Eagles, Boston.com, Heidi Mc and Achieva Credit Union, NZ DOC, Cornell Bird Lab, and @Cornell Hawks.