If you like bald eagles . . .

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GC
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Re: If you like bald eagles . . .

Post by GC »

I haven't seen it either. It's on a couple of the Facebook posts, though.
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Well, there's one . . .

Post by GC »

One egg hatched today. Here's a link to the Facebook page that has video links: https://www.facebook.com/berrycollegeeagles
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Awwwwww . . .

Post by GC »

Image
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Re: If you like bald eagles . . .

Post by GC »

Well, good news and bad news. The other egg does not seem to be viable, which is not at all unusual. A few days back the male tried to bury the second egg, but the female retrieved it and seems to be still sitting on it.

Since then, the male has reburied the egg and the female has not retrieved it. The chick, named B3, has more than doubled its birth weight and seems to be thriving. Even with a few cold nights, B3 seems to be too big to stay under mom overnight and had to endure a few nights of cold with only its head buried where it's warm.

So it looks as if there will be one eaglet this year, and the parents are keeping it well fed (fish and coots). Please keep them in your thoughts, and maybe occasionally your browsers.

http://www.berry.edu/eaglecam/

https://www.facebook.com/berrycollegeeagles
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Re: If you like bald eagles . . .

Post by Donn »

Image
Coots are cool.

I used to live on the lake, not really in coot territory but lots of mallard ducks. I grew to detest mallard ducks, they're stinkers that thrive in urban areas only because their combination of fecundity, boldness and stupidity serves them well there. The hen sits on a large clutch of eggs in the spring, somewhere in the bushes where between the dogs and the raccoons it's a miracle any of them survive. This is after of course laying the eggs with every last calorie she's got. She takes a few minutes off from sitting on the nest to waddle down to the lake and go looking for something to eat, and what does she get? A gang of mallard drakes hanging around looking for trouble, who will chase her around. When the ducklings hatch and they all go down to the lake? Same thing, and of course the ducklings scatter all over the place while this is going on and she'll spend half an hour rounding them up.

Coots on the other hand each take responsibility for looking after their progeny, sharing duties male and female alike. When you get into their territory in nesting season, you might be accosted by one of the parents who will try to lead you away from the nest, while the other one guards it. And of course the looks - the adult's red eyes and green legs are a little surreal, but look at those cootlings, hard to even describe that.

For a raptor that has the stuff to take on more than a coot or a dead fish, I like the golden eagle. According to what I read, they can hit something on the order of 200 mph in a stoop, which is a pretty serious move for a bird that big. If we had them around here instead of balds, I think people would tend to keep their cats indoors more, which would be a good thing.
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Re: If you like bald eagles . . .

Post by GC »

I was blissfully unaware that there was such a thing as a coot locally. I'd heard the name but had never noticed them or had them pointed out to me. And even so, I've only seen them dismembered in the eagles' nest. I guess I'm going to have to go coot watching.
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Re: If you like bald eagles . . .

Post by tbn.al »

I tried to eat one once. Don't.
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Re: If you like bald eagles . . .

Post by GC »

So this is what a sub-adult eagle about 4 years old looks like:

Image

This youngster was pestering the female and eaglet on the nest this morning. When the male returned, the pair ran it off. Problem or not, it's a magnificent looking critter.
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Re: If you like bald eagles . . .

Post by GC »

B3 is now six and a half weeks old and is 2/3 the size of its father (or maybe more). It'll probably be ready for flight in 4-6 weeks. Its feathers are coming in nicely and its wingspan is already impressive.

http://www.berry.edu/eaglecam/

https://www.facebook.com/berrycollegeeagles
JP/Sterling 377 compensating Eb; Warburton "The Grail" T.G.4, RM-9 7.8, Yamaha 66D4; for sale > 1914 Conn Monster Eb (my avatar), ca. 1905 Fillmore Bros 1/4-size Eb, Bach 42B trombone
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Re: If you like bald eagles . . .

Post by GC »

A little more context about what seven weeks of growth can do for a baby eagle:

Image

Image

The first picture was taken about five days after hatching. Daddy eagle is in both pictures. Considering that male eagles are a fair amount smaller than females, I think it's a safe guess that this eaglet is a sheagle.
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Re: If you like bald eagles . . .

Post by JCalkin »

Here's another feed, from Decorah, with sound!

There are three young eaglets in this group.

http://www.decoraheaglecamalerts.com/" target="_blank
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Re: If you like bald eagles . . .

Post by GC »

A little drama: earlier this week both parents disappeared for two days, and the mother eagle another half day. Baby B3 was spending a lot of time looking at the sky and getting uncomfortably close to the edge looking for her parents. They've been back regularly since, and B3 has spent as much time as possible trying to tuck her head under her mother (when not gobbling everything in sight).

Then today:

Image

The experts are saying that a female will sometimes stay away from the nest trying to draw away predators, and the nest has been pestered a few times by red-tailed hawks. I don't know if the eagles and hawks are squabbling over territorial intrusions, but it's certainly not uncommon.
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Re: If you like bald eagles . . .

Post by tbn.al »

The Eagle has flown! I missed it! You can click on the link in the OP and watch the video of the historic flight. Historic for at least one eagle.
Last edited by tbn.al on Thu May 22, 2014 3:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: If you like bald eagles . . .

Post by GC »

At age 3 months to the day, B3 finally flew. First flight:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=p ... fnlvmT4XZ4

Second flight:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=298932623603982

She already looks magnificent:

Image

She'll hang around the nest and be fed by her parents for a few weeks until she learns to hunt on her own. Then it'll be empty nest syndrome until late next fall.
JP/Sterling 377 compensating Eb; Warburton "The Grail" T.G.4, RM-9 7.8, Yamaha 66D4; for sale > 1914 Conn Monster Eb (my avatar), ca. 1905 Fillmore Bros 1/4-size Eb, Bach 42B trombone
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Re: If you like bald eagles . . .

Post by tbn.al »

The Berry eagles are back. Both Mom and Dad are in the nest tonight.
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Re: Hm. Eagles are not architects

Post by arminhachmer »

TubaTinker wrote:
GC wrote:I'd never realized that such magnificent creatures could be such klutzes. The male brings a near-useless twig back to the nest, and the fun begins.
There's pretty much a limit to what you can do with your pecker! :tuba:
OK Dan, you win the comedy price of the week...month...year. :mrgreen: :D 8) :) :lol:
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Re: If you like bald eagles . . .

Post by tbn.al »

It's about time for eggs. The Eagles have been busy. The nest has been completely restored and prepared for another year's eaglets. Berry has been busy as well, installing a new camera with sound.
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Re: If you like bald eagles . . .

Post by tbn.al »

Two eggs already this year.
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Re: If you like bald eagles . . .

Post by tbn.al »

We have a new baby eagle in GA.
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