Eagle Cam....

[W. Gray]

One of the little guys is moving around, but the other one does not look like he got more than his head outside the shell and then gave up the farm.

[W. Gray]

This morning, the second egg does not look like it has hatched.

Must have been part of the first's shell that looked like it was sticking out of the second egg.

The little guy is moving around quite a bit. Mom is probably off looking for pablum.

[Teresa]

Bless his little heart.. He is crying and trying to stick his neck up to look and see something and then he topples over... I wish she would hurry up and get back and feed him  Poor little feller...

[Teresa]

With the full moon.. you can see them in the night time now.. She isn't doing anything.. but its still kinda cool that the moon is lighting up the nest.

[Diane Amberg]

He/she was sleeping just now but when the baby woke the adult was very interested in feeding what I think is partially digested liquefied food.

[Warph]

How Majestic these birds are.  BEST SITE on the internet, by far!  Thanks Teresa.

2nd best:  http://www.hancockwildlife.org/index.php?topic=raptors_victoria1#closeup
Sidney, BC Nest Site: The Sidney nest is on a property not far from Patricia Bay, in Sidney, BC, near the Victoria International Airport. The nest is on private property with no access to the public. Two views of the same nest.
This pair of eagles has successfully raised young each year that we've had a camera on them, since 2006 season when their chicks were watched continuously by over 40,000 people for 4 months solid after the eggs in our Hornby Island nest failed to hatch.


http://www.hancockwildlife.org/index.php?topic=White-Rock-Eagle1#WideAngle
The pair of bald eagles built a a nest high in the trees on the White Rock bluff
overlooking Boundary Bay in Surrey, BC.

[W. Gray]

Bald Eagle information gleaned from some web sites:

Taken off the endangered species list in 2007.

Mom and Pop weigh from 10 to 14 pounds.

Live up to 30 years in the wild.

Lifting power is four pounds.

Mate for life

Eggs have 35 day incubation period.

Eggs are subject to be eaten by squirrels, ravens, and gulls.

Nests can be up to 9 feet in diameter and weight 2 tons.

Nesting territory is one to two miles.

98% of the time one parent performs nest duties.

Second egg is laid several days later. Eggs hatch in the order they were laid. Sometimes have
three eggs.

Eaglets gain one pound every four to five days. Should be one foot high within three weeks.

Male provides the majority of food.

40% do not survive their first flight.

Chances are great that the older eaglet will kill the younger eaglet and neither mom nor pop will have any objections.

I seem to recall that the turkey was suggested to be the national bird but the bald eagle won out in 1782. However, one web site says that this not true saying the idea came from a letter Benjamin Franklin wrote a couple years after the bald eagle was adopted as the national bird. He compared the qualities of the  turkey to that of the bald eagle and apparently thought the turkey should be the national bird.

[Teresa]

I'm so sad.. apparently our little Eagle baby, Paddy, has died. Belle left the nest over the weekend to get a fish  and while she was gone.. There was an intruder.. . What I gather from the posts is that Belle may have stepped on Paddy as she was trying to fend off the intruder yesterday ...

I didn't realize that this would effect me like it is.. I'm just so sad inside this morning.... The other egg will not hatch..
Nature is sometimes cruel...

[Teresa]

Belle has covered  and buried the unhatched egg and Paddy.. She has fought off another intruder with a black spot on his head while doing it. She is standing watch.. There is a fish in the nest.. and from reading all the posts, I don't know if she wasn't able to get away from the nests to get food and that part of Paddys' death was not only from the stepping on him, but from lack of food.  She has been ducking her head down and looking up watching the sky's and calling out.. Nature is fascinating.. cruel and brutal... but fascinating..
We could really learn something from nature if we broke our mental process down and simplified our thoughts..  I will continue to watch off and on all day between working..

[Teresa]

 These are 2 just posted comments..

I have watched multiple nests over the past few years and the egg and the eaglet will become just a part of the nest now as the pair will remain there and maintain the nest and also defend the territory against other intruders.

It is sad that the eaglet has not survived, but to be able to see what the eagles have to go through to defend their nest and territory gives you a fantastic glimpse of their survival instincts.  If I remember correctly, a gentleman who works for an avian center said the mortality rate for raptors is about 75% in their first year.  This should give you greater appreciation when you are able to see an eaglet being raised from hatch to fledge.

Mar 21, 2011 -- 10:43AM, NCTC wrote:


All -

It has been quite a long weekend.  Here is a summary of an update which will go live on our Web page shortly:

Over the weekend we were able to confirm multiple sightings of the male eagle who is a part of the established breeding pair.  He appears to be uninjured and in good health.  We were also able to confirm the presence of a third eagle near the nest, and we are almost certain it is a breeding age female.  The eaglet, as many of you know, has died.

We have biologists on staff at NCTC who have offered their assessments of the situation.  It is generally agreed that if the new female is successful in taking over the nest, she will then need to recruit a male to join her.  If she does find a mate, it is likely too late in the nesting season to lay, incubate, and hatch any new eggs.

Nest competition is common in areas with healthy eagle populations.  The fact that we are seeing nest competition at NCTC means the population of eagles in the area has likely increased in recent years.