17 July 2022
There is a White-bellied Sea Eaglet pecking away with its egg tooth on its shell in the old Ironbark Tree in the Sydney Olympic Forest in Australia. This is WBSE29 making its way into the world.
Lady was restless. She got up to have a break and the camera zoomed in to seeing a beak and chick moving about in a large hole.
White-belled Sea Eagles are the second largest bird of prey in Australia. The largest is the Wedge-tail Eagle. While the Wedge-tail Eagle is found across every area of Australia, the Sea Eagles can be found along the coast and in particular the eastern coast where they are more plentiful.
Sea Eagles eat fish, of course. But the Sydney Sea Eagles will also bring Silver Gulls to the nest and other birds as well as some amphibians. Like all other eagles their plumage will change. They have lovely white down when they hatch and by the time they are ready to fledge their plumage is the most gorgeous creams, rusts, espresso browns and variations in between.
There is a new camera with excellent sound. You can hear that little chick working away. I am putting in a link to the nest of Lady and Dad – experienced parents. They will be troubled by the smallest owl in Australia, BooBook, by the Pied Currawong and Magpies. The Rainbow Lorikeets will come to the nest out of curiosity but not to harm the chicks. At dawn, Lady and Dad sing a bonding duet that starts the day. By the time the chicks are 3 weeks old, they will be joining in.
So have a watch…we need ‘life’ and joy in the midst of all the sorrow.