October begins!
Well...it is nice to see that the eagles are active in the nest area. They are calling occasionally and seem to have weathered tropical depression Kyle without obvious incident. I would like to comment on Peggy's action packed video post which can be viewed under our last blog post. Although it is difficult to be certain of the identity of the second bird, after several viewings and several consults, it appears to be a young eagle based on its large size and shape (this could offer a nice discussion point if others had other perspectives). Furthermore, it is not uncommon for young eagles to "explore" nests as they disperse. If you haven't viewed Peggy's video, I recommend it!
All the Best,
Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute
All the Best,
Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute
posted by Bald Eaglecam at 10:00 AM
10 Comments:
9/2 5:10pm
So Patrick, whats the word with young eagles scouting out a spot for their own nests? Of course it's easiest to take someone elses but if that doesn't work, I wonder how close to an existing nest will they build a new one. Will young eagles wait til it's mating season to begin building a new nest or will they build in a prime food area to try to attract a mate?
Thanks
J in S.P.ME
10/4 7:30am
Wow!! I was just made aware of your BRI e-newsletter!! Signed up & received it right away - it's fantastic; how great to get news of ALL the things that BRI is working on in a newsletter format...and photos too! I love pictures - worth a thousand words ya know.
So this morning I read about the Yellow Billed Loon with its special trials & tribulations and spent a few moments loving the photo of our young eagles from a few years back. Ahhhh, next year looks fruitful.
Thanks BRI - what a great idea! Sign up you bloggers if you haven't already...scroll to the bottom of any page to see the link.
J in S.P.ME
Sat, 10-4-08, 1:20 pm
I appreciate your response about the noises near the camera, Patrick. Maybe the activity near the camera did no start until after your visit there and that's why you didn't notice it.
I am still hearing regular periodic noise at the camera/mic. It is not quite as "electronic" but is definitely there. There is hitting, scraping and thumping, mostly muted, but not eliciting the electronic overtones I was hearing this past week. And it occurs as before: for maybe 15-20 seconds and then goes away. Maybe, just guessing, it is more muted because it is now insulated by something between the activity and the camera/mic.
The eagles are nearby and doing a lot of chattering and calling today. The ravens are noisy also!!
10/05/08 ... 8:08 PM
Hello everyone ... After 5 days of no visits there was a visit today around 3:50 PM for a little over three minutes. Seemed like a serene visit where the Eagle took off down to the right after a call from another Eagle. There have been 4 visits since the confrontation. Listed below are the videos and on the 27th the visit was just over an hour.
Maine Bald Eagle Visit 10/05/08 3:55 PM 3:48
Maine Bald eagle visits for an hour 09/27/08 9:35
Maine Bald Eagles 09.26/08 6:32 AM 2:24
Maine Bald Eagle Visit 09/26/08 6:05 AM 2:48
Thank you Patrick for all your updates and dedication you are putting into the study of these Eagles. Thank you for taking the time to watch my video, it’s nice to have some expert input on it.
10/05/08 ... 8:08 PM
Sorry I didn't even sign my post ... Peggy
10/6 7ish am
What a wonderful way to start the week w/ a view of an adult on the nest feeding! Love the sunrise on the nest and today the added bonus was the bird! Also love the background noises; they sound like Lewis & Clark's scouting party slashing thru brush...
Enjoy this beautiful day
J in S.P.ME
10/06/08 … 8:17 AM
Good morning all … A short morning visit
Maine Bald Eagle visit 10/06/08 7:15 am 3:56
Have a good day … Peggy
Another visit today at 9:20 am 10/06/08
Maine Bald Eagle 10/06/08 ... 9:20 AM
…..Peggy …
Mon, 10-6-08, 11:37 am
The regular periodic noise at the camera/mic continues. Today it is back to being closer to the equipment and eliciting more "electronic" overtones.
Hello J in S.P.ME and others. You ask a good question about nests and young eagles. Eagles do not usually breed until age 5. Before this they tend to move around quite a bit. Individuals vary in their movments which generally can be categorized as a winter area and a breeding area...in years before they breed birds may just keep moving throughout the breeding season.
Overall, the size of nest sites and wintering sites varies based on their quality (think food abundance). Speaking generally, if food is extremely abundant or extremely lacking then there is not much incentive for a bird defend a territory. Furhermore, in areas of intermediate food abundance birds tend to define a territorial range that they defend from others of their species. So, as for our young eagles, because eagle pairs both contribute to building a nest they would probably not begin building until they established a pair bond and then might require a bit of practice before successfully raising young. So, I guess the first trick is finding a mate and then finding an available nest or nest site in a food rich area. An alternative is to wait for a nest to become available due to a pair (or pair member) perishing. In some cases it might be worth the wait!
All the Best,
Patrick
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